Shipping assistance
by free2dream
Summary: Lucy gets some creative writing practice while helping Mira's shipping dreams come true. The first chapter was intended to be a one shot for my first posting. Tested the waters and got such great response I am making this into a chapter piece. Even I'm not sure where this one will end up! Constructive comments are welcome, please read and review. :)
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer - Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima & all things Pradesh belong to DESNA**

Levy was humming softly while she pulled out her spare key to Lucy's apartment. She was excited to read the next chapter of her novel. Lucy had told her to head on over and check it out while she helped Mira out with some restocking inventory tasks at the Guild. She had been planning on coming over later anyhow, but this gave the little bluenette a chance for some uninterrupted reading time. Lucy's team was all back at the Guild so it was unlikely for any of them to randomly stop by. They would stick close to where Lucy was, they always did.

She loved Lucy's apartment, it was just so her. It was cozy and friendly, bright and cheerful, and just downright welcoming. She was sure that's why her crazy teammates were always breaking in. She had asked Natsu once and he smiled and simply said it smelled like home. Taking a deep breath in, she sort of wished she could experience the dragon slayer's ability to smell for just a little. _I wonder what Gajeel thinks of my scent…_ She shook her head to break that train of thought before she started daydreaming about her Iron Slayer again. That was happening more and more often recently, although nothing really prompted it. Gajeel was the same as always. Quietly strong, a natural leader and a rock for everyone that depended on him. And so damn good looking. _What I wouldn't give to know what that tongue piercing tasted like..._ Levy blushed and slapped her cheeks with her hands. "Bad Levy!" she proclaimed out loud to the empty room.

She headed straight for the desk to locate the latest chapter so she could get distracted and hopefully pull her mind out of the gutter. Lucy always kept her writing in the middle left drawer, everything neatly organized into labeled folders. The last chapter Levy had read was 12, so she started flipping through the folders looking for 13. It wasn't there. She flipped through them again slowly. No folder for 13, but she did find one unlabeled folder. Hmmm. That's odd. Maybe she just forgot to label it. She shrugged and pulled it out and got comfortable on the couch. Opening the folder there were four sets of paper clipped together. The first was marked as "Gratsu".

_' It was a typical day for Fairy Tail wizards. The guild hall was packed with several teams having recently returning from various jobs. It was loud and full of happiness. Bickslow's cackle and an annoyed screech from Evergreen proved even the Raijinshuu were in attendance in the S class lounge on the second floor. Happy was attempting to lure Carla with fish and she was decidedly ignoring him. Wendy and Romeo were conversing quietly, Macao and Wakaba were playing cards, Cana belched loudly while hugging a keg, and Mira smiled while tending bar. '_

Levy scrunched her face in confusion. Lucy had never written about Fairy Tail before. This certainly was not the latest chapter of her novel. She knew she should probably put it away and just let Lucy know she couldn't find it, but she was curious. Just a little more…

_' Team Natsu was all present and accounted for. Erza was looking almost orgasmic over a piece of strawberry cake. Lucy was sitting with Natsu and Gray happily chatting away about something Loke had recently done. Everything was perfect in that moment, and then it happened. Carla finally had enough of Happy pushing his fish bribe into her face and she slapped it from his hand. The fish flew across the guild hall somehow missing everyone in its path until it smacked into the back of Gray's head. Gray turned to see Natsu grinning at him and solidly punched him in the face. Natsu yelled "You want some of this Ice Princess?" and lunged at Gray. Lucy barely managed to duck out of the way before she ended up caught in between them._

_"What is your problem Fire Fart?" Gray yelled and they both started swinging. The temperature in the hall dropped at least 10 degrees and then promptly increased 20 as Natsu got "all fired up". Gray was determined not to let the fire slayer best him and had been reading up on pressure points. Well not so much reading as he found a book with pictures that he skimmed. He didn't pay attention to the details, he just needed to know where they were after all. So he was unaware this was a Boscan book on the male anatomy._

_This seemed as good a time as any to try it out. He dodged to the left to avoid a fiery fist, grabbed Natsu around the waist and pressed firmly into his lower back holding him tight against his chest. Natsu definitely paused when that happened. Gray smirked, it was working! Sweeping a leg he dropped Natsu to the ground and pulled his right leg into his grasp. Putting pressure on the lower calf he moved his thumb downwards to put pressure into the dip under his ankle. Natsu's eyes widened at the sensation. Gray's smirk moved into a full grin as he dragged himself on top of Natsu to proclaim himself the winner. Little did he know the reaction he was causing as slowly slid his body up Natsu's. He had lost most of his clothes during the brawl and Natsu's vest had pulled open. They were skin on skin, and the Fire Slayer felt the juxtaposition of of cold metal of Grays cross sliding over his overly heated skin. The Ice Make mage leaned in whispering into Natsu's ear "I've got you. You are all mine now!" His hot breath ghosted over the slayer's skin causing a shiver travelled down his spine. '_

Levy was fanning herself to bring down the heated flush to her skin as she read. She couldn't believe Lucy was writing this about her nakama, but she couldn't stop reading it either.

_' Natsu's pupils dilated and his nostrils flared, taking in the cool icy scent of the man currently straddling his waist. Red scales started appearing on his arms and his temperature increased. His vision swam as sensation and scent overwhelmed him. Instinct caused him to reach up and grab Gray behind the head, pulling his head so they were face to face. "No, you are mine!" he growled out and slammed his lips on Gray's. The coolness of Gray's skin against his heat was just perfect. Gray moaned into the kiss, responding passionately before he even realized what was happening._

_Juvia slumped in defeat as she watched her love interest find romance elsewhere. The guild was silent as the two men kissed and caressed each other on the floor. "About damn time!" Laxus yelled from above. Natsu released Gray's neck from his firm grasp and grinned, blushing furiously. "Let's get out of here Frosty." Gray, although in a state of semi-shock, couldn't deny the feelings coursing through him and smirked back. "Lead the way Inferno." When they were next seen at the guild three days later, they were both sporting huge grins and Gray had a red dragon marking curving around his left side. '_

"Wow," Levy breathed out as she flipped to the next set of clipped papers. She couldn't even feel guilty about reading what she shouldn't at this point. She felt a compulsion to keep going. The next set was labeled 'Gajevy'.

Mira looked at Lucy as she sipped on a strawberry smoothie. "Are you sure it will work?"

"Oh, I'm sure. She has a fantastic imagination and is more curious than a cat." Behind her back the guild doors slammed open to a flushed bluenette. She stormed past the confused onlookers straight to the Iron Dragon slayer. Grabbing his shirt she pulled and literally dragged him from the guild and out the doors. Hearts appeared in Mira's eyes and Lucy grinned. "Told you it would work."

"You are amazing, your skills at bringing my ships to life are so beautiful! Free smoothies from now on. A deal is a deal. Oh the babies!" Mira clasped her hands together and squealed in delight. "So is Gratsu actually going to happen?"

"Mhmmm. I loaned Gray my research notes on pressure points for close combat advantages last week. I didn't explain its sensual pressure points though. It's only a matter of time until he tries it. Those two are a hair's breadth away from realizing how they feel already. I realized it's why they fight so much."

"Oi, Mira!" came a gruff shout from the second floor office as Laxus stuck his head out. "Bring me some beer, this paperwork is killing me!" The demonic bartender sighed and turned back to excuse herself from Lucy when she noticed the blonde celestial mage was waving a slip of paper in her face.

"I might have accidentally left some of my papers in his stack of work…" Mira's eyes widened as she saw what was written on the paper, 'Mirla'. Grinning Mira reached across the bar and kissed Lucy soundly, then pulled a fresh beer and sped up the stairs. Lucy smiled, she was happy for her friends and glad she could help nudge them in the right directions.

She frowned as she reached for her smoothie to find it missing and in the hands of the shadowquip mage now seated next to her. "When are you going to write me a story mia bella?"

"Never," she proclaimed trying to grab her drink back. "These stories need to be a challenge. Everyone knows you aren't a challenge to get into bed Vander." She frowned as he dodged her expertly, sucking down her smoothie noisily. Sighing she gave up on the idea of getting it back. "You know what, maybe I will write one about you. It will be about you behaving and having no sex." He laughed and put the smoothie just in reach only to pull it away and twirl to her other side when she reached for it again.

"Now now, there's still one lady out there that has denied me no matter how much I woo her."

"Oh really? I'd love to meet her and congratulate her on being so intelligent." Lucy snarked back, still pouting over her lost beverage. She couldn't even get another one because Mira certainly wouldn't be back soon.

"You already have. Thanks for the drink piccola stella." Vander blew her a kiss as the shadows swirled around him before he disappeared leaving an empty glass on the bar..

Lucy sighed, that man was fun but frustrating to no end. And it was impossible to get the best of him. Resigned to having to fend for herself until Mira returned, she decided to clean up the bar. She stood up and noticed the paper she was still holding in her hand. 'Mirla' was scratched out and under it was written 'Vanlu' with a smiley face and two hearts. She giggled as she shook her head. It got her brain starting to think about what it would actually take for her to succumb to his advances. Maybe, just maybe there was a story there after all.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer - Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima & all things Pradesh belong to DESNA**

A/N - Originally, I wasn't planning on continuing this into chapters so updates might be infrequent while I work on other pieces. This one is just too much fun to let go of though. If you aren't familiar with Desna's Pradesh family and universe, I highly recommend it. I will be using some of her characters without a lot of backstory. Anyhow, enjoy and please review!

Lucy was pretty damn proud of herself when both pairs had actually mated. She was disappointed that there wasn't an actual marking like she had written. Evidently, in reality it was a scent mark that other dragons or slayers would sense. She was watching Levy sit in Gajeels lap feeding him scraps of iron with a dreamy look on her face, wondering if she could talk the script mage into a tattoo.

"I can't believe it actually worked," Mira slid a fresh smoothie to the blonde mage. "You have a real gift and oh, I can't wait for the babies!" Mira sighed dreamily, leaning on the bar. Lucy decided it wasn't worth mentioning that she wouldn't be getting babies from Gray and Natsu. "So… Who do you have in mind next?"

She turned back to the demon bartender with a thoughtful look. "Juvia. She has not gotten over Gray yet and I feel a bit bad about that. Not that her obsession was healthy or anything." Lucy sighed. "I have an idea but it will be a two-parter. Complicated. I will need lots of help."

Mira nodded her head firmly. She loved to see the romance spring up around her and throughout the guild. "Hmmm. A good choice, but who to pair her with? To be honest, she was so stuck on Gray that I didn't even really think about others."

"I've been giving this a lot of thought actually. Juvia has some issues and needs someone with a massive amount of patience. They need to be calm and sincere. Gray was never a good pick for her, she was just excited about how their magics meshed and turned it into a falsely perceived sense of love." Mira nodded again. That made sense. "There are only a few I can think of, but the person I like best is actually… Jellal."

Mira leaned back and tapped her finger on her chin giving this a full consideration. Lucy was very observant of the others and tended to get a real sense of their overall needs and emotions. She had learned to trust her opinion on this. She thought about Jellal and had to agree he was steadfast and calm and a rock that Juvia could lean on. He also had patience in droves. A grin broke across her face, as she breathed out "Blue-haired babies."

Lucy giggled a little. "Yes, definitely blue-haired." She watched as the hearts grew in the bartender's eyes knowing she was shipping them for sure now. "But that leaves a problem to be solved first."

"Erza."

Lucy nodded. Erza and Jellal were an unhealthy couple. The relationship was more about penance than love. But Jellal would never betray Erza even if just in his imagination, so she would have to move on first. She sipped her smoothie slowly and leaned forward with a hushed voice. "I have an idea but it's a long shot."

Mira leaned in close conspiratorially. "Do tell."

Lucy whispered her plans to the barmaid, who had an unusually serious look on her face as she nodded periodically.

"What do you think they are on about?" Natsu asked Gray, looking over at the two girls. Gray ran his fingers through salmon colored hair, still amazed at how soft it really was. How had he never known that until now?

"I don't know, but it does look suspicious. Maybe I should go over-" Gray started.

"You don't want to do that," a voice called out from the corner. "Trust me you don't want to know." Gray shrugged at the poison slayer and went back to playing with Natsu's hair. Seriously, how did he never notice how soft it was?

Back at the bar, Mira pulled out her ledger tracking missions for her and Lucy to look through. "Looks like the Raijinshuu should be done in a day or two. I can come up with a reason to ping Laxus tonight to get an update. I will be right back." Mira ran up to the use the comm in Laxus's office.

"And what do you need the Thunder Legion for?" a sexy voice ghosted across her.

Not even turning she responded, "Don't you have anything better to do with your time than harass me?"

Vander shrugged and sat on the barstool next to the blond. "Not particularly. Kaleb suspended me for a week because of a minor incident with some dignitary's wife. She didn't mention she was married, as if I'm supposed to just know. Anyhow, I'm bored and you didn't answer my question."

Lucy sighed. "I don't need them all, just your brother. I need a favor, and no I won't tell you what."

"Bella, you know I'm more than capable of granting any favors you might need. You don't need Bixy for that." He smirked at her while she groaned in frustration.

"Please, I don't need that kind of help. Either way I certainly don't need your help. Isn't there a damsel in distress that needs rescuing or deflowering or whatever you do?"

He smiled and leaned towards her, breathing into her ear. "I know of at least one princess that needs deflowering. Keep your secret, I will figure out the mystery on my own sweetness." With that he disappeared.

"Is everything okay Lucy?" Mira asked having just returned to the celestial mage in a daze with a shocked look.

"He licked me! That man actually licked me!" Lucy yelled in outrage, rubbing her ear and cursing the shadowquip. Mira smiled and turned back to putting away the cleaned glasses. That was one ship she couldn't share with the blond, but oh how she wanted it to be real.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer - Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima & all things Pradesh belong to DESNA**

A/N - Sometimes you start a chapter and it ends up somewhere totally different from where you expected... Don't forget to R&R.

"So what are you writing for this one?" Mira asked.

"Nothing, that isn't how dragon slayers work. I need to get them together and they need to touch. Skin on skin." Lucy responded, still trying to work out the details in her head. She wasn't concerned about Mira being upset that she wasn't Laxus's mate. Mira had always known it wouldn't be more than a fling, a very very enjoyable fling.

"But Natsu and Gray touched all the time, since they were kids. Gray is practically naked most of the time."

Lucy waved her hand to dismiss the idea. "I think that's the problem. They were together since they were little. So as that part of him grew up, he didn't notice a difference. Also, have you met anyone quite as dense as Natsu?"

Mira giggled. "No, I suppose if anyone could miss a giant sign it would be him. Oh, I still can't wait for pink haired, blue eyed babies!"

"You realize they are both…" Lucy started to interrupt but changed her mind. "Nevermind. So from all of the information I can gather from Gajeel and Levy, it's about scent and touch. I will get Bickslow's brother here under the pretense of training Wendy. Then we just have to get them together and get them to touch. Wham bam thank you ma'am!."

"It seems too easy," Mira said with a thoughtful frown.

Sighing Lucy had to agree. "Well that is if my hunch is correct. If not, then they touch, nothing happens and I'm back to square one."

Convincing Bickslow to contact his brother had been child's play. Convincing Laxus that it was far better to bring the lunar slayer to Fairy Tail rather than send Wendy into the den of sin that was Bosco was even easier. Lucy didn't actually believe that and personally felt like Bosco had it more correct than Fiore, but that was neither here nor there. She had to stoke that over protective big brother fire to get her way. Just mentioning sex and Wendy in the same paragraph was exceptional tinder.

Lucy refused to feel guilty over her meddling no matter what looks and eye rolls the poison slayer gave her. She knew he knew everything she was plotting but that he wouldn't interfere. It would ruin his entertainment. He winked at her as she thought that. _Stupid sound mages with dragon hearing._ He smirked. _How do I know that was a wink since he only has one eye. Maybe it was just a slow blink…_ He growled. Smirking back she turned back to her plotting.

She was making a list of items needed for decorating the Guild for the Harvest festival. Her plan was simple, well in her mind it was. She would have Loke run lookout for the lunar slayer's arrival. When he arrived, she would have already talked Erza into showing off all of her various armors. That was certain to get his attention. She would introduce them, a hand shake and voila!

If that didn't do the trick she would have Cristoff assist Erza hanging decorations and use her Virgo stardress to undermine the stability of the ladder. Erza would fall and Cristoff would catch her. Voila!

If for some reason that didn't work either, she would make sure that Erza was a total knockout in the Miss Fairy Tail competition and Cristoff was a judge. When he placed the crown on her head, voila!

Worst case scenario, she would trip Erza into him. With a devilish smile she continued making her list while Cobra just shook his head and laughed internally. Normally he wouldn't stick around for the festival, but there was no way on Earthland he was going to miss this.

"You are plotting something, I can tell mia stella."

"I don't know what you are talking about. I'm planning a festival. It will be quite an event." She huffed in response. The last thing she needed was Vander figuring out what she was up to. Hearing a snicker from across the guild hall, she shot Cobra a glare.

"That look was not the one of event planning. It was one of pure evil intent. I've seen it on you before." He moved behind her and leaned into breathing hotly on her neck. "I can only hope you are plotting evil things for me starlight."

Shuddering, Lucy shook her head to swat him away with her ponytail. "Go away Vander. I know you are bored, but hoping and wishing won't get you into my pants."

Leaning against the bar and looking delicious as always he kept his lustful gaze on her. "So that means there _is_ a method for me to get into your pants? I accept the challenge. No genies or wishes allowed." She held her breath a bit. Damn but that man oozed sex and when he directed his attention at one person...it was no wonder so many had fallen to his charms. If she didn't know it would be a one night stand she might be tempted. If she were honest with herself, she'd have to admit she was still tempted. She couldn't encourage him right now though, she was on a mission she reminded herself sternly.

"I'm serious Vander. I've got work to do." She refused to look directly at him or she might cave a little.

Vander was quiet for a moment before he turned serious. "Just don't attempt your games with my brother. I know he is on his way here and it is because of your request. Now, it sounds legit but I care about my brother. Don't meddle with his heart. He is a slayer and will find his mate when fate decides not you."

"I know all about slayers Van."

He grabbed her shoulders and pulled her around to face him. "No you think you know. You nudged two pots that were already about to boil over and proclaimed victory. You haven't seen the heartache, the devastation when it all goes horribly wrong."

Letting go he walked away, hands in his pockets. Lucy looked down at her notepad. She wasn't going too far was she? Just a touch. That's all she was trying for, it was still up to fate. She wouldn't push. Sighing she gathered her things and bid Mira and her friend's an early good night. She had a lot to think about.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer - Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima & all things Pradesh belong to DESNA**

A/N - My focus will be on this story now that Finding Home is completed. As always, reviews are very welcome!

Lucy stared into her drink trying to sort out how everything had gone so horribly wrong. Her plans had all started off correctly. Erza was requipping into her various armors when Cristoff arrived, but right before they were introduced she changed into a new costume she had bought and wanted to show off. It had gloves. When Erza was hanging decorations, she created a small hole under one of the legs of the ladder and it started to wobble. Cristoff had immediately stabilized it and found something to shim up the leg to prevent further incident. Lucy wasn't sure Erza had even noticed anything had happened. Erza had won the Miss Fairy Tail competition and Cristoff was the guest judge as planned, but due to the elaborate updo Erza had the Lunar Slayer gave up trying to figure out how to place it on her and just handed it to her with a sheepish grin. Twice she had attempted to trip Erza only to realize it was like trying to tip over a mountain. It was impossible and she only ended up hurting herself and ended up as practice for Wendy.

Sighing she nibbled on the straw, well at least that part was working out correctly. Wendy was learning a lot and loved working with Cristoff. She was startled out of her depressing thoughts when Mira plopped several boxes onto the bar. "Can you take these supplies up to the infirmary? I found these boxes after you pulled out all the decorations. Somehow they had ended up in the back of the storeroom and forgotten."

"Sure thing Mira," Lucy eyed the three boxes. They didn't look terribly heavy, but were too large to carry all at once. She'd have to make more than one trip, unless she got someone to help her carry them. Carry them to the infirmary, where Cristoff was teaching Wendy… She perked up at the possibility of one more try. "Erza, can you help me carry these?" she called out.

"Certainly, Lucy." The requip mage came right over and grabbed two boxes while Lucy hefted the third. They brought them up the stairs and into the infirmary. Erza set her boxes on a table to the left of the entrance and turned to take the third from Lucy as she entered behind her. There was a slightly loose board that creaked and moved as Lucy's foot descended on it. Between the shift and the weight in her arms she lost her balance and fell to the floor, the contents of the box spilling all over.

Wendy rushed over to her to check if she was injured. Tears sprang to her eyes as she waved the girl away, the frustrations of the week finally getting to her. _I give up, _she cried internally. "Nothing more than a scrape at best. Thank you Wendy, I just want to go home." She didn't even look at the mess she created or the looks of confusion on everyone's faces. She just stood, turned and left. Erza started to go after her when the youngest slayer ran past her to do the same.

"Is she alright?" Cristoff asked.

"She has seemed a bit off this past week, perhaps she isn't sleeping well. I will check on her later." Looking down at the rolls of gauze and bandages strewn across the floor, she knelt and dragged the mostly empty box over to refill it. Cristoff knelt as well and the two silently cleaned up the mess. Erza was about to stand up when she spotted some bandages that had slid under the bed next to her. She reached for them as them at the same time the Lunar Slayer did. She heard his breath hitch as they made contact simultaneously. Her eyes lifted to his suddenly noticing just how close they actually were. His nostrils flared slightly and his eyes widened. _Were they always that color?_ she thought. It was like staring into the reflection of the moon on the ocean. How could she have not noticed that before?

Downstairs, Cobra snorted. "Damn, Tink was right again," he told the shadowquip next to him. Vander was waiting for his brother to join him and he tended to hang out with the Poison Slayer when Lucy wasn't around for entertainment. "Moony won't be going chick hunting with you tonight, or probably ever again."

"What? She is his mate? For real?" Vander was in shock, eyes wide as Cobra nodded. He could hear it loud and clear even though they were upstairs. Their souls were practically shouting. "Well shit. How did she know?"

"No clue and I get to listen to her inner workings, which by the way are seriously non-linear and fucked up." Cobra explained. "Might just be dumb luck. You do know what this means though?"

"When she finds out she's going to be incorrigible." Vander laughed a little. "I can't believe she gave up and left right before it happened. I'm going to enjoy being the one to tell her."

He was happy for his brother though. Like him, Cristoff was a one night only kind of man but for different reasons. The Lunar Slayer always knew there was a mate out there for him and him alone and he never wanted to string along anyone. Vander on the other hand was simply living life to the fullest and didn't need anything or anyone weighing him down. Someday Kaleb would figure out that he got into trouble on purpose so that he was not eligible for Knighthood. Maybe Kaleb already knew... he mentally shrugged. It didn't really matter. _Hey Kaleb, patch me through to Dad. You won't believe what just happened._


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer - Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima & all things Pradesh belong to DESNA**

Lucy pouted for a full day and a half, locking herself away in her apartment before she admitted to herself she was being childish and forced herself to head back to the guild. She had just turned the corner from her building when she was greeted with a whistling shadowquip mage. "And where have you been stellina?"

"I wasn't feeling well so I took some time to rest if you must know." She started walking faster to get past him, but he simply circled her and walked backwards in front of her so she couldn't avoid him.

"Hmm, well I am glad to see you are better and returning to gift your nakama with your presence. It was rather dull yesterday with you gone after Cristoff left. Although Cobra is passable company."

"Your brother left?" She stopped avoiding eye contact and looked at him in surprise. Proof that her plans were a complete waste of time and a failure, she supposed. She had known from the start that there was a low chance of success no matter how strong her intuition had been. "I thought he was going to stay a few weeks more to work with Wendy still?"

Vander just shrugged and returned to her side, "It seems there was a sudden change of plans. He might return later." He paused to let that sink in before continuing. "You left pretty suddenly the other evening."

Lucy frowned. "As I said, I wasn't feeling well."

"I wasn't aware sulking was a malady." The blonde glared at him and picked up her speed again, but said nothing. "It was a shame you didn't stick around even 10 minutes more." With that he just started whistling again, easily keeping pace with her.

_Ten more minutes?_ She thought to herself. _What happened after I left?_ She waited for Vander to continue but all she received was silence. _Ugh. He's going to make me ask._ "Ok, I'll bite. What happened after I left?" She received no reply so she looked to her side only to realize he wasn't even there anymore. She spent the rest of the walk to the guild mumbling to herself about annoying males and was in a foul mood when she finally arrived and plopped herself on a stool at the bar.

Seeing her friend was in a bad mood, Mira just made the smoothie and let her take a sip before asking. "What's wrong Lucy? I would have thought you'd be in good spirits after everything that happened."

Lucy looked up confused. "What are you talking about Mira?" She looked around the mostly empty guild hall to see if she could spot a clue. "Where is everyone?"

"Gray and Natsu went on a mission this morning, same with the Raijinshuu. Cana left on that vacation to Bosco she's been saving up for, and Erza went to Akane Resort-"

"That's right," Lucy interrupted. "She won a stay there in the Miss Fairy Tail contest. That's nice. I hope she has a good relaxing time."

Mira giggled. "Oh she's having a good time alright, but I doubt she's getting much relaxation. Ooh the red haired, blue eyed babies! I can't wait!"

Confusion set in until the baby color combination sunk in. "Wait, who did she go to Akane with?"

"Cristoff of course! Once he found out she was his mate, there was no keeping the two apart. You should have seen it, it was so beautiful." Hearts in her eyes, Mira kept gushing over the new couple. "I guess you left right before it happened."

A swirl of darkness to her left had her glance over at the smirking shadowquip now seated at the bar as well. "Yeah, about 10 minutes before it happened from what I hear."

"Yup, that sounds about right Lucy!" Mira kept chattering on while Lucy just glared at Vander. He just winked back at her annoying her further. She fumed until the full reality of the situation kicked in and she began to smile.

"I was right," she said quietly to herself then repeated it again louder. "I was right!" Mira nodded and finally stopped gushing long enough to take Vander's order and serve him a beer. Lucy grinned and turned and poked Vander in the shoulder. "See? I was right!"

Vander smiled back, she was practically overflowing with happiness and it was infectious. She practically glowed when she was excited. "Yes you were. Don't get cocky though. Probably just luck." She started to frown a little. "But, I am quite pleased to see my brother find his mate. He has always held himself back emotionally because he didn't want to fall in love before he found his true mate. My sister found out the hard way how badly that can go. It's both a blessing and a curse for slayers. But thank you for my brother's happiness. Most likely they would have met eventually since our guilds work together often enough. Perhaps fate used you as the catalyst. I know there won't be any stopping your meddling at this point, but can you promise to leave the slayers alone from here on? Let fate work that out."

She listened and considered what he said carefully and agreed. She ignored the cry of relief from the Poison Slayer behind her. "Yes. I understand and that sounds best, but I do think you are underestimating me. I have a sense for who makes the best match. I can just feel when it's right."

Vander got up from the bar and circled behind her, trailing a hand up her arm. Shivers went down her spine. His hot breath in her ear as he spoke, "If you know who everyone's match is, then where is yours?" He dropped enough jewels on the bar to pay his tab and vanished.

Lucy screamed in frustration and rubbed her ear. "He did it again! I can't believe he licked me again!"

Mira hid her laugh as she retrieved the money and cleaned up the bar.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer - Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima & all things Pradesh belong to DESNA**

A/N - Sorry about the delay. Real life sucks sometimes. But good news, my muse came back and I've some interesting ideas on where to lead this story. Hope you like it, please R&R.

Lucy tapped her pen against her chin staring at the unfinished list before her. Mira nudged the plate of untouched pancakes towards the frustrated blonde. "They will get cold."

"Hmm? Oh, yes thank you. Sorry, I'm just having a hard time with this." She picked up the fork and took a small bite while staring at the mostly empty paper before her.

"Writer's block? That's unusual for you."

"No, well not exactly. I'm not even to the point of writing anything yet and I'm already stuck." She sighed and resumed the tapping. "I was so excited about Erza that I forgot something kind of crucial." Mira glanced around to ensure no one other than Cobra was listening and leaned towards her so they could speak quietly. This was about her ships so it was important. "I realized that I don't actually know that much about Jellal." Lucy turned the paper to Mira so she could read it.

_Pros: Blue hair, strong, responsible, determined, calm, feels bad about the Tower of Heaven_

_Cons: Former criminal, too much guilt_

"Well, why not ask Cobra? He was in Crime Sorciere so he should know a lot about him."

"Not happening Tink. I'm not about to help you and Linda Blair over there with your weird dating games." Mira glared at him for the nickname. He merely cocked an eyebrow. "Are you trying to deny you are possessed by demons?"

Mira's reply was interrupted by an excited blonde jumping over to the Poison Slayer. "Come on Erik, just a little bit? Describe him in three words." She put on her most innocent face. Cobra refused three times before he finally relented to her begging. He'd never admit it, but she was downright adorable when she wanted to be.

"Fine. Three words. Allergic to fun. Now go find something useful to do."

Not ready to be deterred, she decided to play a card she'd been holding onto for a while. "I just might have made some hemlock berry jam…"

"When you were on that preserving kick…" Lucy nodded, grinning. She knew she hooked him. "That was four months ago. You've been holding out on me." She nodded again and grinned more. He sighed. "Look. All I will tell you is that he is the most constipated man in Earthland and his balls are probably bluer than his fucking hair. I can give you some advice though. Spend time with him and figure it the fuck out yourself."

"You know that is not a bad idea. Not bad at all Erik. I will go get the jam!" She bounced away while Mira cleaned up the forgotten pancakes.

"That was nice of you to help her," Mira started.

The Poison Slayer just snorted back. "She'll be ready to kill herself just to stop the boredom after a few days with him. Meredy is the only one that can still handle his bullshit, but she's batshit crazy." He leaned his chair back against the wall, closed his eye, and sipped his cyanide laced beer. There was definitely a benefit to having a demonic bartender. They had no qualms about poisoning your ass.

"Can I ask you a question? Why do you let her call you Erik?"

"Have you ever tried to stop Tink from doing something? Some battles aren't worth waging."

Mira pondered that for a moment and decided he was probably right. But then she figured he'd just poison anyone else that tried the same. He had a soft spot for her just like the rest of them. "Why do you call her Tink?"

"Meddlesome, small, blonde, fairy princess with big tits. Now get me another beer and leave me the fuck alone."

Lucy spent the next few weeks arranging all the details. She convinced Laxus to let her pull an S class mission as long as she went with Crime Sorciere. She waited for Natsu and Gray to go on their own mission so they wouldn't try to come with her and then she contacted Jellal and convinced him to join up.

Today was the day she was heading out to meet them and she was excited. The mission was right up their alley, taking down a dark guild. It was a smaller and newer guild so Lucy felt comfortable with it as well. Evidently they were stealing rare artifacts and magical items and doing it in the middle of large crowds. Somehow they were inciting riots and every witness was so involved in the angry fighting no one ever saw the thefts. No one could recall why they were angry, just that they were enraged and it was gone as quickly as it came. People were left injured, confused with a huge mess to clean up.

The last theft was some items that the Magic Council was transporting. They were taken in the middle of the day in the middle of Hargeon. Needless to say, the mission had a pretty hefty payout as well due to the fact it was from the Magic Council themselves.

She had spoken with Jellal about it in detail over the lacrima com when she brought it to their attention. They both felt it had to be some sort of mass mind control. Lucy was fairly confident her Capricorn stardress would protect her from such controls and Jellal had spent a lot of time building up such protections through various means on his own. Meredy would sensory link with one or both of them and stay outside the range of effects they were able to estimate from the reports.

It was a good starting plan and they even worked out the most likely next targets. If they were right, they could be done with the mission within a few weeks. If not it could take months. Either way it would give Lucy plenty of get to know Jellal time and she could plan things from there as well as add a good amount of Jewel to her savings. Grinning, she let Viirgo take her bags to the Celestial Realm as she strapped her whip to her hip and closed up her apartment.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer - Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima & all things Pradesh belong to DESNA**

A/N - Things are taking a bit of a turn with this Chapter but it should all come together over the next few. Enjoy and as always, please review!

It had been three weeks and they were getting nowhere. There were no more attacks. No more riots reported anywhere. They were currently in Oshibana, taking a break while somewhat hoping the upcoming museum display of artifacts attracted the dark guild. It was also a railway hub which allowed them to easily follow any lead quickly. On the plus side, Lucy's quest to get to know Jellal was going swimmingly. She found him quite the conversationalist when the topic interested him and he was an amazing listener. She used that to her advantage to discuss her concerns about a few of her guildmates. Obviously that included quite a bit about Juvia. Jellal had a lot of sympathy for her beginnings with Fairy Tail. He knew the difficult path to redemption quite well.

Currently, the three were split up in the town. Jellal was doing research and she and Meredy were shopping. The two girls had _very_ different ideas about shopping so they went their separate ways. Lucy was currently perusing the jewelry at a street vendor's stall. A long dangling necklace with a beautifully polished azure stone with gold flecks had caught her eye. She was about to ask the price when she was bumped from behind and nearly knocked over. She turned to give the person a piece of her mind when the vendor jumped to her side of the stall and yelled at her accoster about leaving his customers alone. Soon enough the two were arguing loudly and a crowd began to draw.

It wasn't but a few minutes before one of them threw a punch. The crowd jeered and pressed in closer, Lucy pulled back to get out of the way before she ended up an unwilling part of it. Luckily she was able to get out in time and snuck to the other side of the street watching in bewilderment as people in the crowd started to get involved instead of just spectating. She could actually feel the rage flowing from those involved and it seemed to just draw in more and more people. Suddenly sensing anger and jealousy right next to her she backed up into a fruit vendor's cart and startled herself. When she turned to pick up the apples she accidently knocked loose a small hand reached out from behind the cart and grabbed the apples. She heard little footsteps run in the other direction.

She wasn't sure why, but she felt compelled to race after the apple thief, the feeling of anger and jealousy ahead of her, rage behind her.

As she ran, she called out Loke to try to get ahead of him and stop him and between the two they finally captured him on the edge of town. Loke held the squirming thief down while Lucy caught up. "Princess?" Loke looked to her to see what she wanted him to do. She really wasn't even sure herself.

"We aren't going to hurt you, I just want to talk." She tried to calm them down as she got a better look. They were small, dirty, and wearing tattered clothes. She slowly pulled the hood away from their face and took a deep breath in. Aqua eyes glared at her from the boy's face. His hair color was hard to determine with all the dirt caked in it, but she thought maybe a light brown.

He didn't speak, just glared. She never felt so much anger and fear from a person before and it nearly broke her heart to see it come from what she guessed was a 10 or 11 year old boy. "It's not working!" the kid finally growled out in frustration. "Why doesn't it work on you? Do you have a bracelet too?"

Lucy wasn't sure what he was shouting about, but a tear slowly streaked down her face as she ripped him out of Loke's grasp to hug him tightly to her chest. "I am so sorry for whatever you've gone through, but you are safe now. Let me help you." She looked up to Loke and added, "Let _us_ help you."

Vander strolled into Fairy Tail using the front door for once since he was with his brother. He was avoiding his father who was now in full on get grandbabies mode now that Cristoff was mated. Fiore was a good a place as any to hide out, he could hang out with his brother, the poison slayer and tease his favorite blonde. Bickslow ran upstairs to talk to Laxus, and he looked around noticing that neither Cobra nor Lucy were there.

"Hey Mira, Cobra on a mission?" he asked as he strolled to the bar and ordered a beer.

"Not one of ours, he's avoiding Jellal I think." She pointed over to a blue haired man with a red face tattoo sitting with a giggling pink haired girl in matching blue cloaks. "He used to be a part of their guild." Mira added as explanation.

"So where is mia stella?" Mira smirked just a little. This was her chance to work on her most favorite ship of all.

She put on her most innocent face and shrugged. "She went on a mission with Crime Sorciere a few months ago and hasn't come back." Quickly, before she lost her composure she turned around and picked up some already clean glasses to pretend clean them again.

A low voice growled out behind her, "What do you mean she hasn't returned?"


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer - Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima & all things Pradesh belong to DESNA**

A/N - Yes this is a VanLu ship, but Vander is still Vander and Boscan and still unattached. Please read and review!

"_What do you mean she hasn't returned?"_

She knew that would get his attention. Mira struggled to keep the glee from her voice and maintain a straight face before she turned around. She shrugged as she pretended to be really busy rearranging items behind the bar. "They came back. She didn't. Mission was S class, taking down a new dark guild. Maybe she needed some time off?" She paused before commenting, "I'm sure she'll come back eventually."

Vander narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously. There was no way on Earthland that this guild would be calm if the Light of Fairy Tail was missing. She didn't seem to be lying but she was definitely not speaking the whole truth. He decided to just cut to the chase and ask. His curiosity was piqued. "And where might I find Crime Sorciere?" Mira pointed to the same duo she referenced earlier when explaining why Cobra was in hiding.

Meredy's eyes widened as he sauntered over and she licked her lips. Vander smirked internally and put a little extra swagger into his steps. "And hello tall dark and delicious!" Meredy exclaimed as he reached the table.

Vander gave her a smile, "I don't believe we've had the pleasure…"

"Oh we aren't with Fairy Tail so we aren't here often. Are you new? Are you taken?" She twirled her finger in her hair while letting her eyes roam his body.

"I'm not with Fairy Tail either, just visiting family. Also not taken. Mind if I join you?"

"Not at all!" She practically dragged him into the chair next to her, simultaneously scooting hers closer. She kept a grip on his arm as she leaned into him. "I'm Meredy and that gloomy guy is Jellal." The blue haired man looked up from his book and nodded to the Shadowquip at his mention. "Don't mind him, he's dull. What is your name sexy?" She couldn't believe her luck. Hanging out with Jellal definitely put a damper on her love life so it had been a while.

"Please attempt to behave yourself while visiting other guilds Meredy." Jellal requested dryly.

She rolled her eyes in response. "See? Dull."

"I'm Vander. What is such a beautiful flower doing in the middle of Fiore?" One of her hands started roaming across his chest, he leaned back a little and gave her free reign. She was very bold for a Fioran.

"I'm in Crime Sorciere. I'm one of the founders actually." Jellal cleared his throat loudly and gave her a pointed look as her hand started to reach under the leather to his skin. She stuck her tongue out at him, but retracted her hand slightly. "We specialize in taking down dark guilds since we all used to be in them. Right now it's just the two of us."

"I'd love to hear all about it," Vander prompted.

"Oh, but I wouldn't want to bore Jellal with all those old stories. Perhaps somewhere more private for a… chat?"

Vander pulled a set of keys out of… well she didn't know where because it didn't look like he had any pockets. But she was happy to see the keys nonetheless. "My brother left me his spare set and I know he won't be back for several hours."

Several hours later he strolled back into the guild hall and went upstairs to find his brother with his teammates. Bickslow raised a brow in question as his little brother tossed him his house keys. Vander winked. "There's a pink haired wild cat passed out in the spare room. I'm heading out for a while so I figured I'd return those."

"Pink hair?" Bickslow tried to figure out who his brother hooked up with. "The only one with pink hair here recently is… no way. Meredy?" The seith mage cackled in delight. "Is she as crazy as I think she is?"

"It's a good thing I heal quickly, kitty has claws. Also that sensory linking is no joke. You should seriously try it sometime." Bickslow cackled loudly again earning a smack from Evergreen's fan. He pouted at the fairy queen and bade his brother farewell as he disappeared in a swirl of shadows.

"Is he going back to Bosco?" Fried asked.

"I doubt it. Dad's being insufferable about getting grandkids right now. Wherever he's going, he'll probably get in trouble with Kaleb or Farron again. So I'm sure to hear about it soon enough."

It didn't take terribly long for Vander to follow the directions Meredy had given him to where Lucy was staying. Evidently they found a mage on the mission and she was keeping him out in the woods to train him. The mage had some strong gifts but lacked control and for some reason the celestial mage was immune to it. It was hard to get specifics from the exhausted maguilty mage.

The whole thing sounded odd, and he felt it was a good idea to check on her. She was a strong mage he knew, but he wanted to make sure she wasn't in over her head. At least that is what he kept telling himself. It had nothing to do with the fact that she was in the woods alone with a strange male mage for weeks.

He approached the clearing she was camped in quietly. He wanted to get eyes on the situation before making his presence known. Lucy was seated near a campfire apparently meditating. Behind her was the goat spirit and on the other side of the fire was another figure. He couldn't make out details other than the guy was short due to the fire blocking his view. As he circled the clearing to get a better look he felt a strong surge of frustration for no apparent reason.

"Lucas, you have to concentrate. There's no need to be upset. I have faith that you can do this. It just takes practice. Trust me Capricorn didn't think I'd ever learn to meditate properly."

Vander heard a sigh from the male as he finally got to a good vantage point. All of a sudden he felt a surge of love and adoration. He looked at the blonde practically glowing in the firelight with a warm smile on her face. She looked like an angel. He nearly walked right into the clearing forgetting all about the other mage just to get closer to her. Looking over he realized the mage was just a kid and the look on his face as he gazed at Lucy across the fire was exactly how he felt.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer - Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima & all things Pradesh belong to DESNA**

A/N - I really am going somewhere with this, so bear with me :) Please read and review!

"_Lucas, you have to concentrate. There's no need to be upset. I have faith that you can do this. It just takes practice. Trust me Capricorn didn't think I'd ever learn to meditate properly." _

The brown haired youth sighed as he opened his eyes and looked over at Lucy. Meditating was far more difficult than he thought it would be. She told him that it was important though so he would keep trying for her sake. He had never known warmth and kindness until her and he felt blessed to stay in her presence. She had taken him under her wing two weeks ago, forcefully. He fought her tooth and nail for the first four days, but she never gave up and never got angry with him. He never knew any family, but he assumed she was like an older sister and he loved her dearly. He wasn't quite as fond of her spirits, especially not the orange haired cat. He liked the pink haired maid though, she was funny. So far he had only met the cat, maid, goat and some weird cross with gross nose bubbles. She said she had a lot more and would introduce them all eventually.

"I know Lucy. I will try harder." He told the waiting Celestial mage and she gifted him with a brilliant smile that made him feel like he was in a giant hug. He still didn't understand how she was immune to his magic but the cross and goat said it was because she was sort of an empath, whatever that meant. He didn't understand but at this point he didn't care. He was just glad she wasn't susceptible to it. That's why he could be with her.

"I think that is enough for one day Miss Lucy," Capricorn announced seeing that the boy was distracted.

"Thank you Capricorn. Can you ask Aries if she would be okay with coming tonight to meet Lucas? I think they would get along." Capricorn agreed and informed them Virgo would let her know when she came later. Virgo had been a tremendous help with Lucas, even though she was stern he responded to her so well. If it hadn't been for her Lucy doubted Lucas would have ever taken a bath. She had been so happy to see him clean, Virgo made him some new clothes as well. He was a good looking boy, light brown wavy shoulder length hair and those piercing aqua eyes. She thought he was probably about 10, he didn't know his age or his birthday. She had promptly declared the day she found him his new birthday, not that he understood what the fuss was about. He would certainly find out next year she told herself.

Her heart broke thinking about his life so far. He was raised, if you could even call it that, by the two thieves that were stealing the artifacts. Somehow they had found bracelets that kept them from being affected by Lucas's emotional outbursts. So they forced him to participate and cause the mass distractions. They kept him secreted away otherwise and treated him worse than a dog. He was kept alive and just healthy enough for their purposes. They had traveled a lot and had been doing this for years, but growing more and more confident they started going after bigger and bigger targets. Finally they had drawn the attention of the Magic Counsel. Lucas didn't even know what country he was from.

She was about to try to convince the boy to wash up while she got started when she saw Vander walk into the clearing. "Vander! Why in the stars are you here?"

Lucas narrowed his gaze at the newcomer. He looked dangerous. He glanced sideways at Lucy and she seemed surprised but not scared and she knew his name. He looked back at the intruder and felt his heart race. He did not like him and did not want him near _his_ Lucy.

Vander stared right back at the boy glaring daggers at him. He felt his adrenaline rush and a desperate need to keep Lucy all to himself washed over him. Thankfully, he had grown up with two Sound mages, a Seith and a Mindbender, he had learned how to control his mind and body. Later on working as a Blood Hunter just refined that training. Forcing his heart to slow, he growled at the boy. "Stop whatever it is that you are doing. I am no threat to you."

Lucy jumped up to run over but without looking at her, Vander put up a hand to halt her and grit his teeth. "Look kid, I'm not going to hurt you so stop."

"He can't," he heard Lucy call out behind him. "Lucas, put on the bracelet please." Vander felt anger, disappointment and despair wash through him. "Just for a little, I promise. Just until we get this situation sorted out okay? You know I won't make you keep it on." It changed to reluctant acceptance as he watched the boy take out a bracelet and slip it on over his hand with a deep sigh. Suddenly he felt the emotional overload halt and he felt able to breathe normally again. Vander turned to greet the blonde who rushed past him to give the boy a huge hug. "I'm sorry I really am. I don't like this any more than you do, but we have to use it sometimes so no one gets hurt while we train right? Once you have control you won't ever have to use suppression ever again." She told him. Finally she turned to look at him. "Not that it isn't nice to see you, this isn't exactly a normal travel route. So why are you out here Van?"

"To make sure you were okay?" Even he didn't think it sounded convincing as he looked at her hugging a child. "They didn't tell me he was just a boy."

Lucy cocked a brow at that. "And what difference does that make? You don't think I'm capable of helping another mage unless they are a child? Or you don't think I'm capable of protecting myself even though I can hold open multiple gates?"

"Not at all, I just wanted to make sure. No one gave me very good information."

"I still don't see how that is relevant to my ability to handle this situation." She just looked at him, waiting for a decent reason. "If the situation were reversed should I be concerned about your welfare?"

"No."

"So I am not capable like you are? Is that what you are saying?"

"No, it's just…" he ran a hand down his face and sighed. No one but his father could usually back him into a corner verbally. He made a mental note to never introduce the two. "I'm sorry."


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer - Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima & all things Pradesh belong to DESNA**

A/N - Life has been topsy-turvy recently so I will be updating as inspiration hits. I will try my best not to have lengthy gaps though. Keep up the reviews, they tend to kick my muse into gear when she's been slacking off. :)

"I'm sorry."

She nodded and smiled at him. "It's okay. I just need you to understand that I'm not a damsel in distress needing rescuing." She turned to the boy, "Lucas this is my friend Vander. Vander this is Lucas. I'm helping him learn to control his magic which you already felt. I asked him to put on a suppression bracelet Capricorn supplied so it doesn't affect you."

"Rescued him from the dark guild you went after?"

"Not exactly. He had sort of already taken them out and ran, but he can't be around people for very long. I just happened to run into him and his magic doesn't impact me like it does most." She stated it like it was an everyday event while she went back to her original seat on a log near the fire. She looked over to Lucas who was poking at the bracelet with a look of disgust on his face. She knew he didn't like how it felt and she couldn't blame him. Being cut off from your magic was like losing one of your senses.

"As best as Capricorn and Crux can determine, it seems to be lost magic similar to Meredy's Maguilty Sense magic. It's strong and he's never had any training that he can recall. Meredy's is different though, she has to create an intentional link." Vander nodded, being recently versed in that brand of magic. "His seems more of an area effect. Whatever emotion he's feeling is broadcast and most people just start feeling the same way. The longer they are within distance, the stronger the feeling." That made sense to with how it had felt to him.

"How is it that you are unaffected?" Vander asked, sitting close beside the blonde mage while Lucas glared at him the closer he sat. He smirked a little, he certainly didn't need the kid's magic to know what he was feeling.

Lucy brushed her hand across her keys to silently call Virgo out, while answering. "Oh, hmmm well Capricorn says I'm an empath and that I naturally feel others emotions so I just understand that the emotions are coming from him and not from within. I'm just glad I can stay with him without suppression and help." She winked at Lucas from across the fire as Virgo popped into existence bowing next to her. "Thank you for coming Virgo, it looks like we will have one more for dinner. Can you bring some extra chicken and rice so I can start dinner? Also, did you speak to Aries?"

"Yes, Princess. Aries would be happy to be called upon tonight and she asked if you could also call out Plue."

"Oh, I think that's a wonderful idea! Thank you Virgo." The pink haired spirit bowed again and asked if she was to be punished. "No punishment, no. Thank you very much. As always you take such good care of me. Would you be able to take Lucas for a bath while I cook?" Virgo agreed and smiled as her spirit disappeared in a shower of gold. "Yes a bath Lucas. It's been days. I'm feeling pretty grimy myself so I will take one later too." Vander perked up a bit with the imagery this statement inserted into his brain. She would appear like a water nymph rising up out of the stream, flinging her hair back with the water spray glistening in the moonlight as it flew from her, her breasts-"Oh, I'm sorry Vander, I just assumed you would stay for dinner without asking! You will stay won't you?"

He adjusted his legs slightly as he tried to clear the picture from his mind. "Absolutely. Actually, I was thinking I could stay for a while and help." Lucy had gotten up to go raise up the zipper on her tent. She was fully bent over to reach the bottom and the view. Oh the view. He cleared his throat. "I won't say that I understand the kid's magic well, but I do know a lot about controlling emotions and thoughts."

Lucy, still bent over all the way, looked at him over her shoulder and asked why he had to do that. She realized she didn't really know a lot about the shadowmage's past and he realized she had no idea her skirt was so short and she was wearing a thong. He adjusted himself again slightly and wondered if was doomed to have a semi-permanent hardon for however long he just signed himself up for. If it got bad, he supposed he could jump to a nearby town and find some release. He looked over at the kid that was just scowling at him. He was old enough to know what Vander was looking at, but not quite old enough to understand why.

"My magic controls the shadows and the void demons within. My birth family all died as a result of my lack of control when I was little. I'm sure it was probably similar for you kid, with how strong your magic is. You remember any of it?" Lucas shook his head. "That's okay. I was lucky to get adopted by Dad who was an expert at dealing with rare and off the chart magic in little kids by the time I came around. I take it you weren't so lucky until you found our little starlight?"

Lucas's eyes widened, this man wasn't afraid of his magic and seemed to have an understanding of what it had been like.

Vander could practically see the wheels turning and he ignored the tempting sight of Lucy fighting a stuck zipper to walk over to the young mage. "Do you see her as a sister or mother?" he asked in a low voice.

Still wide-eyed, Lucas stammered out, "S-s-sister, I think. How… how did you know?"

"I can see how you look at her and I felt how you wanted to protect her and keep her to yourself. Now, I'm going to be honest with you kid. She gives pieces of herself to everyone. You will _never_ have her all to yourself. But that is the same reason she is giving to you now." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I get it though. That's why I'm here now. Just wait until Natsu and Gray find out she's off in the woods with us! Half the damn guild will show up just to make sure she's okay."

"You can really help me?"

"I think so. It took a lot for me to get where I am now, but with hard work you can get there too. Who knows, maybe you can even learn to control what emotion is being broadcast and it wouldn't have to be what you are feeling… Wouldn't that be useful? But let's just get it under control first. Baby steps." Vander watched as the suppression bracelet glowed a little as it fought to keep his magic down.

Lucas's eyes glistened a little with unshed tears. He had never known where he was from or who his family was. Maybe it was like what Vander had gone though and he destroyed them unintentionally. Suddenly he was scared of losing what he had just gained. "You… you don't think she will leave when I'm fixed because I hurt people before?"

Vander snorted, "If you knew half of the people she calls friends. Let's just say one of them tried to turn her into a clock in some destroy the world plot and she adores him. He also specializes in poisoning people so you've got nothing to worry about kid. When Lucy picks you up on her radar, you are hers whether you like it or not."


	11. Chapter 11

**As always - Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima and everything Pradesh belongs to Desna.**

A/N - I don't normally address reviews in my notes, I much prefer to PM the person directly. But I can't do that if the review is entered as a guest. So... Haru - These are all things I've thought about and you will probably get some if not most answers in this chapter. I love that your reviews are directly related to the content, so please don't stop :) To everyone, I know these last few chapters are a bit of a deviation from the initial story line, but I felt I needed to get them alone(ish) for an extended period. Initially this story was pretty much a one-shot just testing the waters before delving into the world of fanfiction. So bear with me as I adjust this into a longer piece with more plot. (Don't worry, Mira will be very happy by the end of this.) And since I'm on this train already - I'd like to give a quick shoutout to Animechick47 who has been a consistent motivator for me throughout both stories. Oh and two chapters in one week? Don't get used to it LoL.

Dinner was ready shortly after Virgo returned with a clean boy. After asking if anything else was needed and a punishment, the maid disappeared while they ate. Lucy was a gifted cook, and Vander was ecstatic about her choices. She made a pan seared chicken with a cherry wine glaze that he would definitely be asking Mr. Elan to recreate. He was a fan of the roasted brussel sprouts with bacon and baked sweet potato as well and was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that she made all of this with a campfire. When asked Lucy just blushed and said there was definitely some trial with lots of errors the first week until she got used to cooking this way.

While they ate, Vander pinged Kaleb mentally. Hey big bro, I'm gonna be in Fiore for a while. Turns out one of their mages found a kid that needs help big time. He proceeded to explain Lucas's magic and struggles.

You need to bring him to White Sea when you get him stable, Kaleb responded. However, you are one of the best to get him to that point. There is nothing imperative that requires your skills here at this time. Presca asked about you, and you know Dad is asking about your whereabouts. I will let them know what you are up to. There was a pause. I know you Van and you don't generally offer up your services for charity work. The mage that found this boy, who is it and please tell me they are not royalty or attached…

Vander almost laughed out loud. His brother knew him well. He had already planned on taking the kid to White Sea once he could be in public without danger. His brother would be best to help refine his skills. He was sure Lucy wouldn't let the kid out of her sight, so he would just have to talk her into going as well. She is not royalty, although I hear she's friends with Princess Hisui. She is also not attached and a member of Bixy's guild. And I haven't had sex with her. I'm what you would call behaving myself. It's just this kid… I know what it is like to grow up with a strong magic that can just destroy everyone around you. If I didn't have Dad and you guys…

Kaleb could feel the ache in his voice and remembered what Vander had gone through as a small child. The nightmares alone were awful and took years to get past. He also didn't skip over the fact that Vander claimed to be behaving. He would contact Bickslow next. I understand. Keep me updated periodically and let me know if you need assistance. Send your coordinates so I can send someone if I need to.

Vander sent his location and watched as Lucy worked on convincing Lucas to eat the vegetables. "Hey kid, you will regret not eating everything you can when you start working with me in the morning. Your choice though, nothing like regrets to learn a lesson." Lucas sighed and made a face as he put some brussel sprouts in his mouth and chewed slowly. Vander laughed. He answered Lucy's unasked question when she looked at him askance. "I always find it amusing that kids chew slower when it's food they don't like. It actually makes it worse instead of chewing and swallowing faster."

Lucy looked perplexed. "I didn't know that. I had to eat everything the same regardless of how I felt about it." She looked down at Lucas's plate and decided he probably suffered enough based upon the look on his face as he tried to swallow. She brushed her hand along her keys and called out Aries and Plue.

Vander watched in interest as her spirits appeared and she introduced them to Lucas. "I thought you had to say an incantation to summon celestial spirits."

She turned to him to reply. "I used to until I mastered the stardresses. Now I just have to touch their key and send my request mentally. Capricorn says this isn't normal for a Celestial mage, but since I'm the first in hundreds of years to master the stardresses they don't have a lot of historical records to go on."

"What exactly are the stardresses? I know a little of Celestial mages from a guildmate at White Sea but I've never heard of that before."

She smirked at him and asked sweetly, "I can show you. Care to spar?"

He couldn't resist nodding. He watched as she glowed and was then wearing a tight black gown with gold trimming, her hair up in a bun, and one leg showing almost all the way up to her hip. He grinned. "I'd love to Princess."

He watched as she took a defensive stance, her face serious. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed her lion and maid spirits appear as if just to watch. How on Earthland was she managing so many gates and a stardress? "Mia stellina, other than looking quite delicious what do you get from this dress?"

She smirked but didn't answer, instead launching at him with her fist glowing, he barely moved out of the way in time. He grinned and grabbed her around the waist as she slipped past him and pulled her tightly to his chest. He didn't want to actually fight her, just restrain her. She shouted "Lucy Regulus Kick!" and a glowing foot came up vertically to slam into his face over her shoulder. Mentally he was thrilled at her flexibility.

He let go and she turned and immediately put him on the defensive as she swung another glowing fist at him. He started to take this spar seriously, dropped into the shadows to disappear behind her to get her into a firm hold. He wouldn't allow her flexible legs to get the better of him this time. She glowed and her dress changed to a maid's outfit and he felt the earth give way below him. He jumped through the shadows to appear above ground again to watch as her outfit changed again to a cow print bikini top and pants with only one leg as a whip curled around his body. He allowed her to capture him and bring him in close as he admired how little the bikini top covered. She dragged him towards here and he just grinned at the sight. Oh, he was definitely a fan of these dresses. He was trying to decide how to have her model them all for him to choose his favorite. Right now the cowgirl look was the one. He finally understood why his brother referred to her as Cosplayer.

Feeling smug and satisfied as her spirits cheered her on from the side, she pulled the Shadowquip mage to her. It took a moment for her to notice the grin on his face as she realized she was practically pulling him in between her breasts. She immediately dropped the dress and turned, blushing furiously. "Um… well. That was a few of them." Distracting herself with her spirits she ran off to see Lucas who was chatting with Aries with Plue on his lap.

Loke looked at the grinning mage and knew exactly how he felt. "The black dress is mine and I'm happy to see her kick your ass wearing it." Quietly he told Virgo to leave so he could chat with this mage while his key holder was occupied. "I'm the leader of the Zodiac and she is our Princess. We haven't officially met, names Loke." He held his hand out and Vander grasped it in a strong shake. The lion could tell this man was after more than just a casual friendship with his Princess. "I need you to understand that she is important to more than just us, she is important to the entire Celestial realm. I can see how you look at her. You will not hurt her in any way, do you understand me?"

"I wouldn't intentionally harm her." Vander's offense showed in his voice.

"Intentional or not, you will bring the wrath of the realm upon you if you do. Virgo and I can open our own gates and the King himself is invested into her future." Vander nodded in understanding and Loke released his hand and shimmered out of existence from Earthland.

Vander turned to look at Lucy excitedly talking to Aries, Lucas and Plue and tried to determine his end game. Pissing off the Celestial realm would potentially cause issues with his older brother who was getting guidance from the Celestial Dragon Draco after his rescue from slavery. Not to mention the lecture he would have to endure from Kaleb since White Sea had a Celestial mage. He knew his initial interest was because of her uniqueness and beauty. After that it had turned into a game since she consistently shot him down. Now? It didn't seem quite as much of a game now, but he couldn't describe it either. All he could say was that he wasn't ready to call it quits.


	12. Chapter 12

**As always - Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima and everything Pradesh belongs to Desna.**

A/N - Ugh, I just realized that when I copied and pasted the last chapter in, the formatting didn't copy so the mental speaking between Vander and Kaleb wasn't italicized. Hopefully that didn't cause any confusion. I don't think I can fix it without deleting and reposting that chapter.

"Wake up kid. Time to work." Vander nudged the sleeping youth with his boot but kept his voice low, trying not to wake up Lucy whose bedroll was in the same tent. Had had to admit, her spirits put up some damn nice outdoorsy accommodations. They had put up a smaller tent and bedroll for him at some point as well. He had never slept so well while camping. Lucas grumbled about it being so early, the sun was just beginning to rise but Vander ignored it.

"Take off your bracelet too," Lucas looked at him in surprise. "I need to be able to feel your magic as you train. I can handle it, and now that I have a better understanding of how it works it should be easier to manage." It was similar with charm spells and other mental manipulations, the effect lessened the more you understand what was happening to you. Vander was certain that as long as the kid didn't have any supremely strong emotions it should be easy for him to withstand the effects.

Lucas pulled on his boots and followed the mage outside of the tent. "We gonna meditate now?"

Vander grinned. "Meditate? Oh no. First we train your body, then we train your mind. If you can't control your body then the rest falls apart the second you are scared. Magic or no, adrenaline is some pretty potent shit. Follow me." And with that Vander took off a mild pace running through the woods. He had already been up for a few hours and mapped a path that led to a small lake. He didn't know if Lucas could swim, but he would be able to soon if he couldn't already.

Lucy was startled when Lucas was already gone before she got up. She was a fairly early riser so the sun couldn't have been up long. She noted Vander was also gone so she relaxed and called out Virgo to start preparing for a large breakfast. The Shadowquip had warned her he would be taking him out for physical training in the morning. She expected the two would be hungry. Virgo brought her supplies and took the washing with her. She peeked into Vander's tent to see if he had anything to wash, but there was nothing. That made her wonder a bit as she realized he was always in the same clothes.

She held in her laughter as she watched Lucas enter the clearing looking completely downtrodden, practically dragging himself towards the fire. His hair was damp and he looked completely exhausted. "He is insane." He grumbled as he ever so slowly moved past her. A small giggle escaped and she turned to look at Vander who sauntered in looking like he just had a Sunday stroll. His hair was also damp she noted.

"Looks like we can skip your bathing today Lucas. Good timing, breakfast is ready." Her jaw dropped as she watched him eat everything he could shove into his face ravenously. Meanwhile Vander snuck up behind her and whispered into her ear, "I wouldn't mind you giving me a bath. I have a few places that might still be dirty."

She laughed as she shoved him away, "I can't wash your brain Vander and that's probably the dirtiest place in all of Earthland." Not ready to stop playing he let himself fall into sitting on the log behind him but pulled her with and turned her to sit on his lap.

"I'm not sure even I can live up to such a reputation mia stella."

She laughed again and put her hands on his chest to push away from him and stand when she remembered her question from earlier. Her curiosity got the better of her and she started running her fingers along his jerkin. "This leather, it is so soft. Where did you get it?"

"Made it myself actually." He answered, adding a little lazy drawl into his voice.

She continued to rub her hands along his chest, "I never see you in anything else. How does it stay clean?" Without meaning to, she leaned forward and inhaled. He smelt of dark cherry wood and musk. She closed her eyes and just enjoyed the feel and the smell. "Can you make me some?"

"I could but I don't think you would appreciate me having control over your wardrobe." He chuckled a little as he imagined what opportunities that would afford him.

"Hmmm?" She asked, opening her eyes as her hands still roamed. Was she this close to his face before? Her eyes instinctively moved towards his smiling lips.

Vander was in an unusual quandary. He knew how this situation would normally play out for him, but this was Lucy. He decided right then and there that he couldn't be the one to take the next step. Not only did he really want to help out the kid, he genuinely liked Lucy and wouldn't use her. She was the relationship sort and he wasn't. He also didn't want to bring about the wrath of both the Celestial Realm and Fairy Tail. But he was who he was as well, and wouldn't pretend to be anything else. He wouldn't push her, but he certainly wouldn't stop her either. He just had to make sure she always knew what was being offered was just what it was and nothing more.

Smirking he let his jerkin fade away and suddenly her roaming hands were stroking his skin instead. Her breath hitched and her fingers stalled, "How did you?"

"My clothes are made from my shadows, I can craft them in any way I want. So, yes mia stellare. I can make your clothes but then I would have complete control over them." He let his pants fade away into short boxer type briefs instead. She wriggled a little when she noticed her legs were touching bare skin and he had to take in a deep breath. His hands tightened on her hips. "I wouldn't do that unless you want me to remove even more."

Lucy felt the large bulge under her as she shifted and squealed as she jumped up, completely red-faced. She ran to get her own breakfast as he straightened himself out and returned his clothes to normal. "You like her?" Lucas walked over to the mage he wanted to dislike but was having a hard time doing so with.

"Yeah, what's not to like?" Vander told the kid as he watched the blonde do her best to pretend she wasn't just fondling him. He smiled. "But she and I are from different worlds. I'm Boscan and she was raised a Fioran heiress."

"What does being Boscan mean?" Vander got up and slung an arm around the kid's shoulder. "Let me get some of that food and I'll try to explain. I was never the best at cultural studies but I can tell you the basics. I'm sure Lucy can help fill in the gaps from her tutoring."

"Oh certainly!" She beamed a smile at both of them, happy to have a distraction from the thoughts racing through her head. She quickly made a plate for Vander as she chattered on about this country and that as she pushed thoughts of how his bare muscular chest had felt under her fingers.


	13. Chapter 13

**As always - Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima and everything Pradesh belongs to Desna.**

A/N - Thank you all for the awesome comments and reviews! Since we are nearing the holidays I might get a little more sporadic with updates. But I'm not done with this story by a long shot.

The three mages settled into a comfortable schedule over the next week and Lucas was improving every day. He no longer needed to wear his bracelet while he slept and the nightmares seemed to have stopped. He and Vander had physical training first thing every day and after they returned and had breakfast he would meditate with Lucy and Capricorn. The afternoons were spent with lessons since the boy had never received proper schooling. Vander was continuously impressed with the breadth of knowledge Lucy had. She explained that not only was she raised to be a proper wife but also learned the business side of things including finances and contract laws. She was thankful to her father for that at least since it made it easy for her to keep her contracts with her spirits in order.

Vander and Lucas returned from their training one morning to see Lucy squealing in delight as she danced and spun all around their campsite. Her eyes sparkled and she ran over and hugged both of them in turn. Vander didn't release her when he embraced her in return. "And what has you so excited this morning?"

She just squeezed him tighter and giggled. "I just spoke with Mira. Operations blue-haired babies was a success!" He let her go as she started bouncing.

"You are a frightening woman." He watched her dance around some more and leaned down to the confused youth next to him. "If she or a white-haired bartender ever look at you with hearts in their eyes. Run. Don't think, don't ask. Just run." Lucas just nodded, unsure how else to respond.

The blonde mage stopped dancing as she recalled another part of her conversation with her cohort in matchmaking. "Ummm. There was something else that might be a little bit of a problem. Natsu and Gray returned from their mission and they are on their way here now. Mira tried to stop them but Natsu wouldn't hear of it. I'm not concerned so much about Gray, but Natsu…"

"It will be fine. He's ready." Vander responded quickly. Lucas looked up at him with pride shining in his eyes. "And if anything goes awry, I can handle your dragon slayer."

"A dragon slayer?" Lucy could feel the nervousness starting to roll off of Lucas but then he took a deep breath and the sensation stopped. She smiled, so proud of the progress he had made. She supposed it was about time to test him with other people anyhow, she would just rather it wasn't a wildcard like Natsu.

"Yup. He's one of my best friends and how I ended up joining Fairy Tail. Let's eat and I will you tell you all about my team."

Lucas listened as she told him not only about her team but Levy, Gajeel, Laxus and the Raijinshuu and others as well. Once she started talking about her friends she couldn't stop. After hearing about so many dragon slayers he looked to Vander. "You can stop a dragon slayer?"

The Shadowquip mage ruffled the kids hair, "My big brother and big sister are both slayers so I'm not worried." Lucas nodded and relaxed.

Later that night, Lucy couldn't sleep so she went out and just sat and watched the stars. Lost in her thoughts she scanned through the sky finding as many of her spirits as she could. She found Aquarius's constellation and her breath hitched a little as she tensed.

"Please don't stop."

Eyes opening wide, she realized that not only was Vander's head in her lap but she had been running her hand through his hair. She pulled back her hand and was about to apologize when his hand shot up and grabbed her wrist. "Please don't stop."

Smiling slightly she resumed her previously unconscious actions. She supposed it was harmless and something she had done for other friends. "I used to do this for Natsu when he was suffering from motion sickness on the trains. He said it helped." She returned her eyes to the sky.

Vander closed his eyes and snuggled into her lap a little more. "I can see why this is very relaxing." He felt her hand stroke through his hair slowly. He could easily fall asleep like this. "You are nervous about tomorrow."

Lucy nodded. "A bit yes. I'm so proud of Lucas, and I love Natsu dearly but… well he isn't very emotionally stable on his own. I am sure it will be fine though, other than keeping Natsu from trying to fight you." Her hand paused as she looked down at the relaxed face below her. He looked so innocent like that. She resumed her motions. "Your hair is so soft."

Vander smiled. "It's a trade secret. I could tell you how to get your hair this soft but I would have to kill you. It would be a shame to lose such wonderful hands."

Lucy laughed. "Well at least I'm useful for something. How exactly is soft hair a requirement for being a spy?"

Vander opened his eyes half way and looked up at her with a devilish smile that made her heart beat just a little bit faster. "Spy work is very tricky and can lead you into some very compromising situations. Sometimes you have to get creative to distract and manipulate. I was also trained to be a Sudepah. Textures and tactile sensations are very very important."

Lucy's eyes widened as she blushed and looked back up at the stars. "Yes, yes. I suppose it would be." The two fell silent again for a bit. "He really will try to fight you. I'm hoping not to start a forest fire. Wouldn't be the first time.."

He laughed and reluctantly climbed out of her lap to kneel in front of her. "I told you to let me handle him. I've got it covered." Suddenly he leaned forward and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "Have a little faith mia stella." He disappeared in a swirl of darkness as Lucy's blush darkened and her heart raced.

"How the hell am I supposed to get to sleep now?" She grumbled out loud.


	14. Chapter 14

**As always - Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima and everything Pradesh belongs to Desna.**

A/N - So I wrote a few chapters and didn't like where it was going so I scrapped them and started over. I hope it was worth the wait for the next chapter. I made it a longer one to make up for the wait :)

"_How the hell am I supposed to get to sleep now?" _

Vander grinned as he heard her grumble about the stolen kiss. He settled on his bedroll in his tent and mused about how easy it was to fluster the blonde. She really had no idea how appealing she was and was almost skittish when it came to anything sexual. His thoughts meandered to how much fun it would be to get her into a Boscan bathhouse and then returned to the kiss that prompted that line of thought. A kiss? Was it really even qualified to be called a kiss? He frowned as he decided it was a peck at best. A peck? He should be mortified to consider that a win. Kids Lucas' age back home would be embarrassed for him. He groaned as he thought about how his siblings or hell, even his father would react. He, the great Vander, happy about a peck on the cheek. They would take away his man card and kick him out of the family.

He had spent too much time with Lucy and not enough time being himself he determined. He needed to get laid and get into a fight and he would rectify both tomorrow.

_Vander, how goes the training?_ Kaleb's thoughts broke through his ruminations. He didn't exactly feel like having a discussion with his brother at the moment.

_Don't you bother knocking? What if I was balls deep or jerking one?_ He grouched back.

_You would gladly share with me the image of whatever potentially immoral act you were enjoying. And since when you do need to "jerk one" as you so phrased it? I'm sure even in the woods you can find something or someone to fuck._

_Nevermind, I'm going to get some well deserved relief tomorrow. I'll be sure to share with you the imagery. _He smiled when he heard Kaleb sigh. _The kid is doing great, we get a solid test tomorrow when some of Lucy's teammates show up._

_Are they the relief you are expecting? From Bickslow's depiction of Lucy, she isn't one to tolerate an orgy in the woods. _

_Hell no!_ Vander scoffed. _A slayer and his mate? I'm not going to get involved in that without an express invite. Speaking of... how is Cris?_

_Exceptionally happy, as is Dad. He's already buying baby supplies in hopes it will happen soon. When do you think you will bring the boy to White Sea?_

_If tomorrow goes well, we will take him into a nearby town for more exposure and then plan the trip from there. Should be soon. Need me for anything before then?_

_No, I just wanted to get an estimated time frame. Cobra from Fairy Tail came here and is working with Presca on a small mission at the moment. Said he had to get away from all the blue hair. He's quite gifted. _

Vander smiled. _Yeah, I like him too. _

_Keep me updated if there is a change. Feel free to "jerk one" now. _

Vander was sorely tempted to masturbate and send that imagery to his brother just for fun. Elsewhere in Fiore another Pradesh was interrupted. _Bickslow, I need you to check in on Vander and Lucy._

A grouchy and exhausted Celestial mage escaped her tent in the morning to see Lucas and Vander gone. Virgo helped her get some much needed coffee and food prepared. She was quietly sipping coffee when the boys returned.

After breakfast and meditation, Vander went to train on his own at the other end of the clearing and Lucy tried hard not to be obvious as she watched him perform acrobatics shirtless. Lucas had to call her name twice to get her attention when he had a question about the math assignment he had been given. Embarrassed she rushed over to help him a little blush on her cheeks.

Vander was just finishing when a blue blur flew through the campsite screeching "Looooshie!" and collided directly in the blonde's chest. Lucas' anxiety spiked high and he jumped to right behind her a sword ready in hand when both he and the boy realized she was cuddling the lump of blue fur.

"Happy! How are you?" an unintelligible reply was mumbled into her ample chest. "Aww, I missed you too. I want you to meet Lucas. Lucas this is Happy, Happy this is Lucas." She delicately pulled the flying cat from her and pointed him towards the bewildered boy, his aura now calm. "Let me call Plue out too and you three can play. I'm sure Natsu and Gray aren't too far behind you." Before the little dog spirit, Vander still had a hard time believing it was a canine could be summoned a far too serious looking Natsu and a smiling Ice Make mage appeared in the clearing. Lucas froze when he saw them and Vander could feel the anxiety spike once again.

"Deep breath, kid. We were expecting them." Vander told him. Lucas took a deep breath and reigned in his emotions.

Natsu eyed the Shadowquip mage suspiciously. He knew the man's reputation and wasn't keen on him spending time alone with his best friend. Gray put a hand on his arm and he visibly relaxed a little.

"Hey Lucy," Gray started. "Been a while." He calmly led his mate over to the pair of mages. Lucy grinned and ran to hug them both while simultaneously summoning Plue. The little spirit seemed to know what to do and ran over to Happy and Lucas.

"I missed you two! How is being mated? How was your mission? Have you had any changes in your magic since mating? How-"

Gray held up a hand and smiled, "Take a breath Lucy. We will talk about all of it."

Natsu meanwhile had not stopped looking at Vander while embracing Lucy. "He been good to you Luce? Because if he hasn't…"

"Don't start Natsu. He's been a perfect gentleman," Vander internally cringed at the comment. This was how his reputation would get ruined. "Just a little teasing. And it's nice to have some company out here and he's been a great help with Lucas. It's also nice to have such a powerful mage here just in case, even though I'm perfectly capable of handling most things myself." She directed that comment with a look directly at the Shadowquip.

"So powerful huh?" Natsu released Lucy and grinned wickedly at the Shadowquip. "Let's test that. Fight me!" His right hand flared up with fire as Gray sighed and rolled his eyes.

Lucy was about to protest when Vander stopped her. "I was expecting… Hell I was hoping for this. Come on big boy, lets see what you've got." Vander disappeared and reappeared behind the Fire slayer and the two vanished. Gray was visibly shaken with his mate's sudden disappearance.

"Don't worry, I think he was hoping for a fight and took them somewhere safer to battle it out." She reassured Gray and pulled him towards her log for sitting next to the campfire. "So tell me, how is the mating?"

Gray blushed a little. "I need to thank you. I know you put ideas in my head to make it happen. I talked to Mira. It's… well it was unexpected but it is amazing. I can't believe how happy I am. It's like something I was missing my whole life was found. I feel… complete now. I kind of feel stupid I didn't realize it sooner. Does that make sense?"

Lucy grinned ecstatic for her friends. "I think I do. I mean, I can only hope I find the same. I'm just happy for you both."

Gray hugged her, "You will find yours eventually. There's someone extra special out there for you. There has to be with how special you are."

Gray and Lucy chatted about the mating and the pair's last mission while waiting for the two men to return. Lucas, Happy and Plue played happily. Lucas was relieved to get out of his lessons for the day, as they were seemingly forgotten.

"He seems like a good kid Lucy. You did a really good thing taking him under your wing."

Lucy blushed a little, this seemed to happen a lot lately she noted to herself. "Thanks, but I think anyone would have if they could. It was just luck that I don't get overwhelmed by his emotions like others did."

"Don't underestimate yourself," Gray commented. "You are exactly what he needed. Seems like fate to me. And how are things with you and… Vander isn't it? Bickslow told me very little about his brother."

Lucy blushed a bit more. "It's fine. He's fine. By that I mean he's nice and helpful, not that he's _fine_. Although he is that too…Stars. If you could watch him train."

Gray laughed and put an arm around her shoulders, "Yeah if I wasn't happily mated, I'd be tempted even before I knew I was okay with that. I had only seen him in passing a few times at the guild. You get along though? And really, he isn't being too forward? I know how Bickslow can get and he doesn't even live in Bosco."

"No no. He's been sweet really. Just likes to tease me, which I can handle." She waved off his concerns. "He's been a huge help with Lucas. I don't think he would be where he is right now without him."

"Fair enough, but know that if he ever oversteps your boundaries I will freeze him into a Bosco-pop in a heartbeat." Lucy giggled and promised to let Gray know if that ever happened. "That of course is only if you don't want him to overstep."

Lucy turned away from Gray and her heart hammered in her chest. "He doesn't want someone like me. He's a playboy and I know it. Not my type." The fact that she wouldn't look at him while she said that spoke volumes to Gray. He decided not to pester her about it though.

"So, when do you think they will be done?"


	15. Chapter 15

**As always - Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima and everything Pradesh belongs to Desna.**

A/N - After making you all wait for so long for the last chapter, I couldn't make you wait for another one. Not sure if I will get another one done before the holidays hit. So Happy Holidays and I hope you enjoy the story. Please read and review!

"_So, when do you think they will be done?"_

"I have no idea but hopefully Natsu will have it all out of his system when they finally do. So how is everyone back home?" Lucy noted it was getting later in the afternoon and she quietly summoned Virgo to help start getting a meal ready. "We are going to need extra food tonight Virgo," she spoke to the spirit that appeared to her side, "Natsu and Vander will be back and probably very hungry."

"Yes Princess." she bowed her head and nodded towards her companion as well. "Master Gray."

Gray smiled at her, "It's good to see you again Virgo. Tell Loke I said hello." The spirit agreed and vanished to gather supplies for the meal.

Gray looked back at the Celestial mage beside him. "You know I felt very guilty about Juvia when I mated. It was a welcome surprise to see her with Jellal when we returned from our mission. They look very happy together. Was that your idea?"

Lucy grinned. "That's how I ended up on the mission where I found Lucas. I had to spend time with Jellal."

Gray shook his head, "I don't suppose Jellal being suddenly unattached from a newly mated Erza was you as well?"

The blonde nodded, "I had a hunch and talked Bickslow into getting his brother to Fairy Tail to train Wendy."

"You realize it is a little terrifying how you can do that right?"

Lucy huffed. "Why does everyone but Mira keep telling me that? I just want my nakama to be happy!" The two continued to chatter on about their guildmates as she and Virgo started cooking a grand feast. "You seriously want me to find Laxus a mate? He's already been with half of the female population in Fiore, I'd have to go out of the country!"

"You did just that for Erza," Gray responded smugly.

"Yes, well. That was a lucky guess. Laxus? Psssht. You might as well ask me to find soul mates for Bickslow and Vander too." She scoffed as she stirred the giant pot of beef stew.

"I have a feeling you can manage at least one out of those three."

"What on Earthland are you talking about? Those three are the most notorious bachelors I know. At least with Laxus I know it would probably be female, but there's no telling with the other two. I suppose-" her rant was interrupted by the return of Natsu and Vander. Both smiling and looking like old friends, even if slightly bruised and disheveled.

"Although that smells delicious, I have a few things to attend to. I will return tomorrow." Lucy didn't have a chance to ask anything before the Shadowquip vanished once again.

Natsu plopped down next to Gray and slung an arm around him, nuzzling his neck and breathing in his scent. "That was awesome! Your food smells great Luce! When can we eat?"

Distracted from the sudden disappearance of her usual companion, she smiled at her best friend. "Soon Natsu. Very soon."

"Did you ask her yet?" he asked his mate quietly.

"Not yet Natsu, tomorrow I will. I promise."

Loke joined the group after they ate and was catching up with Gray while Lucy was managing a pouting Dragon Slayer, exceed and Lucas because it was time for Plue to go back to the Celestial realm. "So, how are things with her and Vander really? She called him a gentleman." Gray asked the lion spirit.

Loke scoffed. "I wouldn't ever use that word to describe that man, but he seems to be behaving mostly. You know I am keeping an eye on him. From what I've heard he's worse than me and Bix combined."

"I figured, that's why I asked you. She likes him doesn't she?"

The spirit sighed. "Yeah, but she knows he isn't the relationship type so she's keeping him friend-zoned."

Gray nodded and smiled as he watched the person in question consoling his mate and Happy because now Lucas had to go to bed. He tossed a lacrima communicator to the spirit. "Per Laxus, you call us anytime if needed. He isn't happy she's out here with him for so long but doesn't want to deal with her wrath if he interferes. She doesn't know I'm giving this to you." The lion spirit nodded and pocketed the comm. Many of her spirits felt much the same about the situation.

Lucy woke up in a great mood, she didn't realize how much she had missed her friends and having them there with her made a world of difference. She got up early to prepare an extra large breakfast. Lucas having escaped physical training due to Vander's absence was asking Natsu about his magic and the slayer was more than happy to demonstrate. Gray had already lectured him about not setting anything on fire and was heading back to help Lucy.

"Hey Lucy, there's something I need to talk to you about."

"Sure thing Gray! What's up?"

"Well, Natsu and I… well we want to start a family. Eventually, not right now but not too far off either." He stumbled trying to figure out a way to ask. This had seemed easier in his head earlier. "Well you know he and I well, we can't…"

"Have babies? Yes, I might be a virgin but I know that it usually takes a female for that." She winked at the now flushed and embarrassed looking mage as he absently played with the cross that rested against his bare chest. "Although I'm not sure Mira understands how that works…"

"Um well. Yeah. That is the problem, but for dragons and their slayers there is a solution. Gajeel explained a lot to me and I guess there are typically more male dragons than female so our mating isn't considered unusual." He paused, trying to decide how to proceed and then decided to just lay it out there. "We can have a surrogate and if we both, well have sex with her the dragon magic will essentially make the child just ours. We want you to be that surrogate." Bomb officially dropped he thought to himself as he watched her freeze in place.

"We just want you to think about it, we couldn't think of anyone else we would trust to carry our child. I don't need an answer right now, but if you can just consider it. It would mean the world to us."

Lucy's mind was whirling too fast to keep track of. Have a baby that wasn't hers? Have sex with two of her best friends? Not to mention that she had never had sex at all. In the end all she could think was how happy it would make them. She flashed a small smile at Gray. "I will think about it, but I can't agree just yet."

A huge breath of relief escaped the Ice Make mage as he smiled back. "Thanks Lucy. That's all we could ever ask."

"Um Gray? Can I ask you a favor?"

"Anything Lucy. Anything at all!" he replied instantly.

"Can you at least leave your underwear on? I don't need Lucas to get an adult male anatomy lesson this morning."

Gray flushed and muttered apologies as he looked down to see he was only in his boxers and his hand was starting to pull the waistband down. He quickly located his clothing.


	16. Chapter 16

**As always - Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima and everything Pradesh belongs to Desna.**

A/N - Hope everyone is having happy holidays! Please read and review :)

Gray, Natsu and Happy left later that afternoon. There were lots of hugs and a few tears on her part, but Lucy stayed in a positive mood and it was rubbing off onto Lucas. He didn't fuss about meditation or lessons at all. In between lessons he asked about going to Fairy Tail at some point to visit which she readily agreed to. After Vander returned they would plan a trip to the nearest town to get him exposure to multiple people and if that went well they were to head to Bosco to train at White Sea. Afterwards she was already planning on bringing him back to Fiore and figuring out how to officially adopt Lucas. She hadn't told him yet, but she couldn't just bring him to Fairy Tail to be raised as a guild orphan like Gray, Erza, Natsu and several others had. She wanted him to have a real family, even if just her and her spirits. She could only hope he would agree to it.

Loke came out to keep her company while Capricorn attended to the boy's lessons. "It was good to see them again."

She threw a brilliant smile his way, "Yes it was! I was a bit nervous about Natsu, but they all got along great. It seemed like even he and Van got along in their own way."

"Natsu is a better conversationalist with his fists than with words." Loke had to admit.

"Gray asked me something while he was here. I'm not quite sure how to feel about it."

Her spirit could see the stress whatever it was caused her and he frowned. His Princess should never be anxious to tell him anything. "Spill it Princess. I can see the weight on your shoulders from here." Lucy proceeded to tell her faithful lion everything as he held her in his arms for comfort. Loke stayed quiet for awhile before carefully responding. "I suppose it's somewhat of an honor to be asked, but I can understand your dilemma. What do you want to do?"

Lucy put her face in her hands. "I don't know. It would make them so happy, but just thinking about… well you know. I just don't know if I can do it." She hid her face in his chest as his arms squeezed her reassuringly.

"You don't have to do this just to make them happy. It is a lot they are asking, and although I understand why they asked you, it is a bit unfair of them. Take your time and do you want to do for you, not just them. Okay?" She nodded and sniffled into his chest and he just continued to hold her for a bit. Slowly she pulled away and smiled.

"Thank you Loke, you are always there for me when I need you."

"And I always will be Princess." He kissed her gently on her forehead and released her from his arms just as Vander appeared. Vander gave him a quizzical look as Lucy quickly wiped her eyes and brought forth her signature smile.

"Hey Van! Did you get what you needed taken care of?"

The Shadowquip thought back to the twins he found. "Oh yes, very much indeed. Is everything alright?"

She waved his question off, "Just some girly emotions after saying goodbye to friends. You and Natsu seemed to have gotten along." She stopped for a second as she just looked at him with a blank stare. "I'm glad you sorted out whatever it was you needed to. I need to get to preparing dinner." She excused herself quickly and went about her tasks.

Vander was about to question her abrupt mood change and departure when the lion spirit interrupted him. "You have a little something right here…" he motioned to the side of his neck before disappearing in a shower of gold.

Vander created a small mirror and checked his neck to see a large hickey. Somehow he managed to both smirk and cringe at the same time.

He watched Lucy carefully that evening. On the surface everything seemed perfectly normal. Everything she did and said was typical Lucy. She was smiling and seemed to be in a good mood, but Vander couldn't shake the feeling that something was bothering her. At one point he even cornered her lion spirit to find out if something was wrong, but he was brushed off being told that Lucy would tell him if there was something he needed to know. He was starting to feel like he was just being paranoid. Why would she be bothered by a hickey? She knew him well enough by now. He would keep close attention to her behavior and sort it out. He was a spy after all. Intelligence gathering was part of the job.

The next day, they packed up for a day trip to the closest town. It was not only a test for Lucas, but Lucy was primed and ready for a day of shopping. If anything went wrong, Vander could get them out of there fast.

Lucy was doing her best to keep her mind off of the request from Natsu and Gray. She called out Plue and he was dancing circles around Lucas as they walked sucking on a lollipop. She knew she shouldn't indulge him so much with sweets, but he had the biggest puppy dog eyes and was terribly hard to resist. She was enjoying the walk and the scenery, fall would be coming soon and the breeze was just a little brisk. Fall and Winter were her favorite seasons, but she wasn't excited to be out camping still when they arrived. If all went well, they'd be on their way to Bosco's warmer climate within days.

Lucy wasn't paying attention that she had gotten further ahead than her three companions, busy dreaming of sunbathing near the famed Grass Sea. She nevers saw the hunter's trap and stepped right into it. Suddenly her world turned upside down and she was staring at a wide-eyed Lucas, a grinning Shadowquip mage and a Celestial Spirit hopping up and down waving a half eaten lollipop at her. The only problem was they were all the wrong direction and below her. Looking up, she let out an "Eeep!" as she struggled to keep her skirt covering her since gravity was reversed.

Relief flooded her as she watched Loke appear next to Vander, but the now outright laughing man held him back as he went to step forward to assist. "What the hell Vander? Will someone please help me down from here?"

Vander just grinned more as he replied, "You are not a damsel in distress that needs saving as you've explained. I'm sure you are more than capable of escaping a simple rope trap."

She growled at him as her face started to pinken from the blood rushing the wrong direction. She looked to Loke, who just smiled and shrugged. "Traiter," she mumbled as she tried to think about how to get out of this while not flashing her panties at everyone in attendance. She donned her Taurus stardress since it was the only one without a skirt. A headache started to form from being upside down. She used her whip to pull herself upright enough to grab the branch the rope was slung over. Pulling a dagger from her boot, she cut the rope off and dropped to the ground in a crouch. Glaring at the men that were still grinning as they started a slow clap, she forced Loke's gate closed and snapped her whip at Vander who easily side-stepped it, dropped into the shadows and reappeared behind her.

"A red lace thong? Naughty naughty." He whispered into her ear and quickly jumped back to stand behind Lucas and the still hopping Plue.

Lucy threw her hands up in the air and yelled about infuriating men as she started to stomp off once again. "Be careful, there could be hunter's traps out there." Vander called after her gleefully.


	17. Chapter 17

**As always - Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima and everything Pradesh belongs to Desna.**

A/N - Sorry about the long wait, I had to put a lot of thought into where I want to take this story so it doesn't just meander aimlessly. Hope the path I chose works out :) Please read and review.

Lucas watched in amazement as Lucy's frustration and anger melted away in an instant once they reached the town market. She practically hopped up and down in excitement when she spotted a vendor with beautiful flowing sheer silk flowing in the wind. Lucas looked up at Vander, confusion on his face. "Is that a Lucy thing or just a girl thing?"

Vander clamped a hand on his shoulder. "Welcome to shopping with the ladies. I have two sisters, totally a girl thing. Come on. We don't want to lose sight of her or who knows where she'll end up."

"But she's right there…" Lucas stared at the shop she had run to and there was no Lucy in sight. Vander pointed to a stall across the way where she was engrossed in a jewelry display. He couldn't help but laugh at the loud sigh the kid released.

Lucy was off in her own world looking for gifts for her friends and spirits. It was never too early for Christmas shopping. Vander stopped at the blacksmith to admire a dagger. The pristine white handle with tasteful gold inlays just screamed Kaleb at him and his birthday was coming soon. Lucas hung out with him while trying to keep an eye on where the Celestial mage wandered. She was across the street trying to reach something off a high shelf. He was about to tell Vander she could use help when the shopkeeper came up behind her apparently to help.

Lucy spotted the cutest little pink fluffy stuffed sheep that she knew Aries would love. Unfortunately, it was a little too high up for her. She leaned on the counter and went on her tiptoes but cursed her shortness when she could just barely feel it with her fingertips still. "Let me help you miss." A gruff voice sounded out behind her. She was happy for the assistance until she noticed him pushing her into the counter more, practically grinding into her backside and resting a hand on the bare skin of her side since her shirt had ridden up as she stretched. She very much wanted to Lucy-kick him into oblivion as his hand started to wander and he was taking far too long to reach the damn doll. Unfortunately, the display behind them was full of glass figurines and she did not want to spend the rest of the day in the lockup while the damages were tallied up. She'd had to do that far too many times in the past with her team. She was debating what spirit she could summon that could extract her without damages. Certainly not Loke, maybe Capricorn?

"Let her go." Lucy turned to see Lucas in the entrance, hands fisted tightly. The anger was obvious on his face but a quick glance behind him showed it wasn't affecting the people walking just feet away from him in the street. "Get your hands off my sister."

The man barely looked at the kid trying to appear threatening. "Mind your business kid. Why don't you pick out some candy while I help her out." Somehow he made the word 'help' sound utterly disgusting. About to summon her calmest spirit, Lucy was shocked when the man suddenly released her and started backing up. He backed into his own display and didn't even look as a few items fell and shattered on the floor. As she turned to see him, he looked… well absolutely terrified. "Go away. Just go away." He shouted at them and she watched him run off to hide behind his counter. She turned back to Lucas who just looked smug as he took her hand in his and dragged her outside to find Vander.

Vander had just finished up the dagger purchase when he spotted them leaving the store. Lucas was practically dragging the blonde out of the store and he could tell there was something wrong. He was by their side within moments asking what had happened. Shrugging, Lucas replied, "He touched my sister inappropriately so I scared him. I'm hungry can we get something to eat?" Lucy just looked confused after whatever had occurred so he though perhaps lunch and a chat was definitely in order.

Vander found them a small French cafe with outdoor seating that looked over a nearby park. They ordered before he decided it was time for one of them to talk. He looked at Lucas first. "The guy was touching her wrong and it made me mad so I made him stop. What's wrong with that?"

"There's nothing wrong with that but _how_ did you make him stop?"

"I made him feel scared. I remembered how scary the void demons are that you told me about and pushed as much of that to him as I could." Lucas took another bite of his sandwich. "It worked."

"But you weren't actually scared right?" Vander prompted.

"Nope. Just mad. I kept that in like I trained though. Can I go play at the park?" He looked to Lucy who smiled and nodded at him. There were a few boys his age flying a kite that he'd been watching since they sat down.

She looked towards the Shadowquip mage staring at her expectantly and grinned brilliantly. "He called me sister!"

He couldn't help but return her smile, he already knew that's how Lucas felt about her but her joy was just bursting from her at the knowledge. "Yes he did and that is amazing. Congratulations, but we need to discuss his newfound skill. Also, that guy didn't hurt you did he?"

"No, Lucas showed up before I could even figure out which spirit to summon. I found the perfect gift for Aries, but I couldn't reach it. I guess I can't even go back to that store now. It was pretty amazing what Lucas did though."

"Amazing? Yes. What could be a fantastic skill? Absolutely. What could be terrifying if misused? 100%. We need to get him to Bosco sooner than later." Lucy nodded but he could tell she was only half-way listening. She was smiling while watching her new brother fly a kite for the first time. Vander smiled as he watched her watch the boy. "Let's stay in town tonight and go pack up the camp tomorrow. We can come back for a train the next day."

Lucy just waved him off without taking her eyes Lucas. "Virgo already packed it up when we left. We can just catch a train tomorrow. It's awesome seeing him get to actually be a kid. He looks so happy, I didn't know flying a kite was that much fun."

They were checking in at the hotel when a squealed "Lucy!" sounded out behind her, followed immediately by a slam into the counter as she was crushed into a hug. Bright pink hair tipped her off as to who. Turning she hugged the fellow mage back. "Meredy!" Looking past her she could see Bickslow shaking his head and laughing. "Bixy! What are you guys doing here?"

"Hey bro," the two fistbumped before he replied to the blonde. "I'm taking Meredy to visit Sorano at Sabertooth and she wanted to visit you first." Meredy had already let go of Lucy and was chatting with Lucas. They all waited together as the Seith checked them in as well. A key was handed to Vander and Lucy each while another was pulled out for Bickslow. Meredy bounced over to Vander and pulled his head down to whisper into his ear. His brow went up as he listened and a devilish smirk crossed over his face. The two, key in hand dissolved into the shadows in front of a very confused looking clerk. Bickslow just laughed and grabbed his key. "Let's drop off our bags and find someplace to eat. I'm starving."

"No need." Virgo appeared and bowed to her Princess. "Would you take Bickslow and Meredy's bags to his room please?" Bickslow showed her the room key number. "Lucas and I will in room 23."

"And Master Vander?"

"Nope he's on his own. Thank you so much Virgo!" With a flash she was gone and Bickslow, Lucy and Lucas headed back out to the town.

The clerk just shook his head and mumbled to himself about how much he hated mages.


	18. Chapter 18

**As always - Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima and everything Pradesh belongs to Desna.**

A/N - This is a short one but it was a good stop point. As always, please read and review.

Bickslow updated Lucy on all of the recent guild happenings. Jellal and Juvia were inseparable and Jellal was going to talk to the Master about joining Fairy Tail. This also explained why Meredy was taking off to visit Sorano. Crime Sorciere was disbanding. He himself was going to join them on their journey to Bosco and let Cobra know. He would know how to contact Macbeth. Sorano would probably join her sister's guild, Meredy was going to try to find Richard and Sawyer and check out Mermaid Heel.

Lucy nodded and sipped her wine when she realized something. "But how can you go to Bosco?"

Bickslow grinned, "They lifted the ban on Seith mages." Lucy jumped out of her chair to circle the table and give him a giant hug. Lucas paused eating his ice cream and eyed this new mage warily.

"I thought all Seith mages were dark." he said bluntly.

"No, but most are. It's a very tempting magic for dark guilds, but just like your magic it can be used for good or bad." he explained very simply, watching Lucas absorb the information. "Did you know there can be dark Celestial mages? And no one would ever consider Lucy dark right? Vander too, he uses shadow magic which is normally considered dark by default." Lucas nodded and continued his ice cream pondering what a dark Celestial mage would be like.

Lucy sat back in her seat watching the two. "Maybe when we get back to the hotel you can introduce him to your babies?"

"Babies? You left babies at the hotel?" Bickslow cackled and let his tongue loll out. He winked at Lucas, "You'll see." He then resumed discussing his return to Bosco with the blonde.

Lucas was fascinated with the totems and kept peppering the Seith mage with questions about his magic. Why was it banned? What happened when had to leave Bosco? How did he learn how to use his magic? How did he fight with them? What happened if a totem was damaged? Each question was answered thoroughly with a patience Lucy didn't know the Seith had. Eventually, she checked with Horologium and informed the boys it was time to head to bed because they had an early train to catch. Lucas pouted but started saying his goodbyes. "He can stay here tonight if it's okay with you." Bickslow told Lucy, "Meredy won't be back so I have an extra bed." Lucas looked so excited she couldn't have said no even if she wanted to.

Lucy gave a small lecture to Lucas about not staying up all night and behaving before being shoved out of the room by a laughing Bickslow. As she returned to her room she remembered why Meredy was conveniently missing and silently prayed to every God she knew that the walls in this hotel were thick. Vander's room was next to hers.

It turned out that the walls were not quite thick enough to drown out all of the delighted squeals and moans from the woman. After trying unsuccessfully to mute the noises with the pillow over her head she called upon Virgo for some ear plugs. Closing her eyes in silence at last she couldn't help but wonder what Vander was doing to make Meredy make those noises. Cana and Mira always told her about how amazing it could be. Maybe it was time to 'give up her v-card' as Cana put it. It wasn't like she was holding onto it for marriage or anything, but she had a tendency to get attached to people and she didn't know if she could emotionally separate the activity. She wanted to help out Gray and Natsu and she would have to in order to accomplish that. But she firmly decided, she didn't want her first time to be with them. It was going to be impossibly awkward already.

She supposed it was a good thing they were heading to Bosco, this was definitely something she could work out there. She knew enough from Vander and Bickslow to know that sex was considered just a sharing of pleasure and didn't have strings attached there. She thought about the Boscans she knew. Bickslow was an infamous ladie's man in Fiore, there was also a rumor that it wasn't even just women with him. He was acrobatic and fit and downright gorgeous if you could get him into street clothes without the visor. She'd seen him in swim trunks a few times and there was no denying his appeal. She crossed him off the list of possibilities though as she thought of Laxus's reaction. For some reason after Fairy Tail was rebuilt, Laxus decided she was his little sister and was over protective to the max. She was sure half the reason Bickslow was there was to spy on her.

Cristoff was also built and sexy as hell, but he was mated to Erza and off everyone's list. Lucy smiled as she realized she would get to see Erza soon. That left Vander. She wasn't sure he'd refuse to have sex with anyone and had definitely showin interest in her. She trusted him not to get attached, but she had reservations if she could do the same. She liked him a lot. He was fun, smart, witty, skilled to all hell and dedicated to his magic. He was also a sight to behold in clothes or not. Perhaps she would meet someone else in Bosco. Sighing she fell into a troubled sleep. She didn't like not having a plan.


	19. Chapter 19

**As always - Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima and everything Pradesh belongs to Desna.**

A/N - I know it's been a while, but sometimes real life just keeps throwing curve balls. It's been difficult to get time to sit and write, but the good news is that I've thought a lot about where this story is going and you get an extra long chapter for the wait! Please read and review. :)

The five mages settled comfortably onto the train, even getting a private cabin to share. Lucas was excited. He had stowed away on many trains but he had never been in a passenger car and was able to watch the scenery go by. It didn't take long for Meredy to fall asleep on Lucy's shoulder having not had much sleep the night before. Lucy dove into a book, while Lucas kept his attention out the window. The two brothers sitting across from them chatted about Bickslow's imminent return to Bosco.

Eventually, the motion of the train had Lucas falling asleep his head in Lucy's lap. She put her book aside and watched the scenery go by while running her fingers through his hair gently and was lulled to sleep as well. Her head resting lightly against Meredy's. Bickslow had quickly learned the advantage of wearing his visor wasn't just to prevent people from knowing what kind of mage he was, but that he could watch people without them being aware. He had watched Lucy sneak peeks at his brother a few times already and was now watching his brother do the same, an almost imperceptible lift to the corner of his mouth.

"Awww they are adorable aren't they? Wish I had a camera." Bickslow joked.

"Yeah. I could snap a photo if you really want one," his brother offered in return casually, making it seem like he had only just then noticed them.

"Nah," the Seith shook his head. "Meredy would do terrible things to me if she knew I had a photo of her drooling on Lucy."

Vander shrugged. "Have you checked the kid's soul?" He had been curious.

"Yup. He stayed with me last night so I finally had a chance to. Craziest thing, he wanted to know all about my magic so he actually asked me to do it. First time that's ever happened outside of family." Bickslow laughed as he remembered how Lucas had stiffened up in preparation expecting some sort of pain or sensation. "He wanted to know what it felt like. I drew the line when he asked me to possess him. Was actually disappointed he couldn't feel it. Kid has no fear."

"He has fears, just not the normal ones. His biggest fear right now is Lucy being taken from him. The kid's had a shitty as hell childhood. Kind of makes me wonder what would have happened if Dad hadn't found me."

"Well, he has Lucy now and she's probably the best thing for him. His soul still has a lot of dark spots and tears, but they are healing. It's almost like a golden thread is stitching them up. Never seen anyone but her manage to do that and she doesn't even realize it. I actually can't look at souls next to hers because hers is too distracting." Bickslow chuckled. "That's how she totally kicked my ass during Fantasia. I could barely concentrate."

This had Vander's attention. "What does it look like?"

"Hers? Well, it's hard to describe. Yours is a pure white, but it's a colder color. Hers is a bright warm white light that a glitter bomb exploded into. She has a few dark spots, but they are hard to spot. Mostly since that Tartaros bullshit. I don't know what happened to her there, I was out for the count for most of it. Whatever happened it couldn't have been good. As far as I know she hasn't talked to anyone at the guild about it."

"Is the glittery soul common for Celestial mages?"

"I had the same theory at first, but I checked Yukino for comparison. As far as I know it's unique to only Lucy. Never seen anything remotely close to it."

"Who's Yukino?" At this Bickslow went on to describe all the mages they were going to meet once they arrived at Sabertooth.

Vander and his brother sat at a table in the guild hall knocking back a few beers as they watched Lucy chat with Sorrano, Yukino, and Meredy. Lucas was having lunch with the two exceeds. If Vander had to be honest with himself, those creatures creeped him out a little. Especially the green one in a pink frog suit that everyone else seemed to think was downright adorable. But the twin slayers that were hovering nearby had his attention. "So light and shadow right? Twins?"

"Not actually brothers, at least I don't think so… but they've been together forever. Interesting pair, opposite in almost every way."

"And both quite the eyeful. I always wondered if slayers not raised in Bosco had the same stamina that everyone knows Cris and Emi have." Vander could definitely get in on some of that action if only they would be there for more than a few hours. Especially the dark one, Rogue. Yes he would have to find a reason to come back at some point.

Bickslow smiled at his brother's endless appetite. "Fioran, so probably straight as arrows."

"That just makes it a challenge worth taking," Vander winked.

Hours later they said their goodbyes and headed off to Crocus. Farron was in town on Embassy business with the newly appointed Queen Hisui and they were to meet with him the following day to catch a ride on his airship back to Palerno.

It was getting dark when they arrived and out of habit, both Bickslow and Lucy headed straight for the Honeybone Inn. "Ah! Fairy Tail is here. Maria prepare the VIP suite for my dearest Lucy and friends." A portly man with warm eyes descended upon them the moment they walked in.

"Mr. Rangor, it is good to see you again, but there's no need for…"

The man hugged the blonde and interrupted, "Nothing but the best for the saviors of Crocus when those awful dragons attacked. I won't hear you argue. Now my dear, you look lovely as always. Who are your friends?"

Vander raised a brow at his brother who mouthed back that he would explain later. Lucy hugged the owner of the inn back and thanked him profusely. "You know Bickslow already. This is his brother Vander from the White Sea Guild in Bosco and this is my brother, Lucas." Lucas beamed at her calling him brother.

"Welcome to the Honeybone Inn, please let me know if you need anything. Any friends or family of our beloved Fairy Tail and Lucy are always welcome here. Would you be dining in your rooms tonight or eating downstairs?"

After sorting through the details of room service and getting the key to the suite, they headed up the stairs. The suite consisted of four separate bedrooms with a common room in the middle and a massive lacrimavision screen that had Lucas in wonder as he had never watched LV before. He and Bickslow sat and started channel surfing while Lucy called Virgo to bring their bags and settled everything into the individual rooms. After a few moments, there was a knock on the door and three bottles of wine were delivered, compliments of Mr. Rangor.

After room service was delivered and the mages had all eaten their fill, they all piled onto the large couch and watched a movie together. Lucy had trouble getting Lucas to go to bed, but they were to arrive at the airship dock promptly at 9 in the morning. She finally called Virgo to assist and the boy grumpily went to bed. Each of the rest went their separate ways, Lucy taking an unopened bottle of wine with her to her room. She showered and changed into the nightgown Virgo brought her and drank while attempting to read. She was distracted though and kept reading the same paragraph over and over until she finally sighed and shut the book. She needed a plan, she needed to get past her virginity and she wanted it to be a good experience. Bosco was definitely the best place for that and they were heading there tomorrow. As she drank more wine her thoughts went back to the sounds from Vander's room the previous night. She wanted to be making those sounds. Slamming back the remainder of the wine, she made a decision.

Vander was just drying his hair from the shower when there was a gentle knock on his door. He was surprised to see Lucy standing there in a dark pink silk nightgown that barely covered anything and a cream colored silk robe, completely open. "Can we talk?" she asked quietly. Nodding he let her in and closed the door and started to make his way to sit on the bed. She grabbed his arm before he got there and turned him to face her. "Share pleasure with me?" she breathed out so quietly he almost couldn't hear it. Before he could respond she pulled his head down and pressed her lips to his.

He couldn't resist those lips and he pulled her closer to himself as he tilted his head slightly and licked across the seam between them. She relaxed and he gained entry into her mouth and explored every detail. She tasted like heaven. A mix of the cherry wine she had drank and her own strawberries and cream flavor was Vander's new favorite. As he deepened the kiss, she timidly started responding in kind. The sensations were completely new to her and making her dizzy. After a few minutes he pulled back and pressed his forehead to hers. "You are supposed to wait for a reply before diving in." The blush that spread across her face and down her ample chest was just downright enticing. He had a thought to explore where that blush ended before he mentally stopped himself.

Sighing, he knew this wasn't the right thing to do. Normally that wouldn't stop him but with Lucy nothing was ever normal. "As much as I would love to explore more than that delicious mouth of yours, I will have to decline."

Lucy felt crushed, ashamed, guilty and a slew of other emotions as tears lit her eyes and she tried to turn to run back to her room to cry herself to sleep. Vander wouldn't let her go though, "Let me explain."

He pulled her to his lap as he sat on the edge of the bed. "One. You are drunk." Lucy started to contest that statement, he hushed her by putting a finger on her lips. "You are. Two. We all know it doesn't take getting drunk to ask me for that, so you had to get up the nerves for the sex itself. Which means you aren't ready. Three. You are wearing pink fuzzy bunny slippers. The rest of the outfit is killer and I mean it."

Lucy hung her head unable to meet his eyes as she wriggled to try to get out of his embrace. Vander groaned as her bottom moved against his already very willing member. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I'll just go." Tears started to drip down her face.

He knew she had a poor self-image only he couldn't understand how a knock-out like her could have ended up that way. "You are terrible at listening sometimes. You aren't going anywhere. If you think I'm not interested then you should be able to feel just how interested I am underneath you. Also, please stop wiggling around. I've been going after you for over a year. So don't start thinking this is about wanting or not wanting. Why all of a sudden is this important enough to you to go this far?"

Crying into his chest she finally explained to him about the request from Gray and Natsu. He listened quietly, in his head thinking that Cris or Kaleb were far more suited to this kind of thing. Comforting others wasn't really a skill he had naturally. He held her and rubbed her back as she spoke about her worries, and how much she wanted to make her best friends happy. On the one hand, he completely understood their request. She was the best choice and surrogacy was a practice well supported in Bosco. On the other hand, he was thoroughly angered that they asked her. She was a virgin and raised a Fioran heiress. This would be fine if she was Boscan, but totally outside her wheelhouse. "We will arrange classes with a Sudepah for you in Bosco if you really want to do this. That will prepare far more than a single fun night with me."

He continued to hold her until she drifted off to sleep in his arms. Sighing again, he moved her into the bed with him and held her close to prevent her from feeling unwanted or unloved when she awoke.


	20. Chapter 20

**As always - Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima and everything Pradesh belongs to Desna.**

A/N - I can't believe I actually made it to Chapter 20 when this started as a oneshot! Anyhow, I like the way this chapter turned out, I hope you do as well. Please read and review. :)

Vander awoke feeling more refreshed than he could ever recall. It was like the constant pull on his magic from the voids was dimmed. Even as a child he had to tightly reign in his magic all day every day to keep the void demons from using his magic to escape. He failed once and his entire family and village paid a hefty price. That was when Arman found him and adopted him. He was probably one of the most disciplined mages out there because he had to be. Between that and what he went through working for the Steel Council, it was just habit and instinct to be alert and controlled at all times. He tightened his grasp on the blonde snoring softly in his arms and breathed in the scent of her hair. _Strawberries, of course _he thought and smiled. She snuggled into him more and he just couldn't bring himself to wake her up or even move. He didn't understand it, but he didn't want it to end so he just lay there and reveled in the sensation knowing it wouldn't last.

Lucy woke to a warm feeling all around her. For a second she thought Natsu had climbed into her bed again, but even her sleep addled mind recognized she wasn't overly heated like he usually caused. She was pressed against a bare chest, held there by warm arms and she tried to defog her brain enough to recall the happenings of last night. Dimly she heard some sort of knocking sound and the arms around her tightened. A soft "Sorry" was whispered against her forehead before she suddenly was colder than ever before in her life. Plopped onto a soft surface, she opened her eyes to see Vander standing next to her bed with an apologetic look in his eyes as he pointed to her door and vanished.

There was another knock and she, now being fully awake due to the blast of cold, she realized it was someone at her door. "One sec," she called out as she ran a hand through her hair to straighten it and pulled her robe closed and tied it. She couldn't figure out why she was only wearing one slipper so she kicked it off and walked over to crack open the door.

Bickslow was on the other side just wearing sleep pants, his blue/black hair still disheveled from sleep. "Sorry," he looked at her sheepishly, "but Hisui sent a guard here to request your presence at nine."

Lucy frowned, "How the hell does she always know when I'm here? Ugh." She saw Vander walk up behind his brother already fully dressed and composed. How she wished it were that simple for her to get ready in the morning. "I don't have much choice I guess. Will you guys take Lucas to the ship while I go have my chat with the lunatic? I don't want to bring him to her."

"Not so fond of your new Queen?" Vander asked. He could hear the disgust in her voice and she'd never spoken like that about another person to him before. She was the most forgiving person in the world so he had to know what had put the Queen on her shit list.

"Bitch used me and Yukino... used our magic to release the dragons here. Then once we sorted all that bullshit out she ends up fucking up the Celestial Realm and I had to fight my own spirits. So no, she doesn't get a pass ever. But I have to pretend to be friends since she's royalty." Lucy spat out. She left out the part about watching her future self die, only Natsu, Levy and Rogue really knew what had really transpired. It had actually taken her and Rogue both a long time to be comfortable around each other afterwards.

"Sounds like valid reasons to not trust her," Vander stated. Slapping a hand on his brother's shoulder he proposed that Bickslow take Lucas to the airship and get him settled while he escorted Lucy to the Palace. He'd done this sort of thing plenty of times for Farron in the past. He could show up completely unarmed and still be 100% lethal, the perfect bodyguard.

Lucy tried to wave him off, "You don't need to, she just wants to talk like we are friends."

"Nonsense," Vander replied with a smirk. "I've just got to meet the one person that fucked up so badly the Light of Fairy Tail won't forgive her. Didn't really think it was possible to be honest, you are kind of weird like that…" Lucy rolled her eyes and closed the door on the two, calling out Virgo and Cancer to help her get ready.

Vander grinned and followed his brother to his room where he started getting ready. "Appreciate you going with her," Bickslow said. "I don't think she's up to anything suspicious, but we've learned not to trust her the hard way. Also, I'm pretty sure there's more to that story than Lucy let's on. Something else happened during that whole Eclipse Gate bullshit that she doesn't talk about. But anyhow, I feel better knowing you are there."

Flipping a dagger in his hand lazily while he leaned against the wall, Vander replied. "Not like I don't do this sort of thing for a living or anything. It's no big deal and it makes sense. I agree that Lucas shouldn't go. He's not technically a citizen and I don't really know the Fioran laws on that shit very well."

"Yeah, me either. We can ask Fare about it when we get to the airship."

"What's an airship?" Both turned to see a sleepy eyed Lucas standing in the doorway. Bickslow grinned, finished snapping on his visor and walked over to whisper in the boys ear. His eyes went wide. "You mean up in the air? Like flying? But how?"

"I'm about to show you. So go get ready." Bickslow grinned at the speed the kid had while he tore back to his room and slammed the door behind him.

"You are really good with him," Vander observed.

"Yeah, I like kids. They are honest. You're pretty good with him too. I'm sure that you'll make a great dad someday," Bickslow teased back.

Vander scowled. It was something he had decided long ago, to never have kids and pass along his magic. No one should go through what he did. Let it become a lost magic once again, that was fine with him. "Not gonna happen bro. Won't subject a kid to my magic. That wouldn't be fair."

"You could adopt like Dad did." Bickslow said, surprised at his brother's statement. He'd never really discussed children with him before.

Vander was smirking and back to his normal carefree attitude in a flash. "And ruin all the fun I get to have? Why on Earthland would I do that? I'll just spoil my nieces and nephews when the rest of you get their heads out of their asses and make Dad happy. There is so much I can teach them about…"

Bickslow groaned imagining it. "You will be the worst Uncle."

"Best Uncle. The kids will _love_ me." Vander corrected.

"Their parents will end up killing you."

"They have to catch me first. Good luck." Heading back to his room to pack up, he called once more. "Best Uncle."

Bickslow vowed to himself then and there that he would never ever let Uncle Van babysit when he eventually settled and had a family.

Lucy hugged Lucas and promised to see him on the ship in a few hours. Lucas was practically hopping up and down in excitement to see a flying ship. The foursome waved goodbye and split up going their separate ways.

Virgo was left in the room packing up their things and was on the hunt for the missing slipper. She finally found it in the Shadowquip's room, tangled up in the sheets on the bed and smiled. She wanted nothing but happiness for her Princess and hoped this would be just that. She knew from Leo the request from Natsu and Gray and she was incensed about it, but he had firmly told her that it was none of their business and that Lucy needed to make her own decisions. She could tell by the firm set of his jaw that he was just as angered. A little tryst with a handsome young and powerful mage might just be what her Princess needed. And that particular mage had wicked eyes that promised oh so many things. She shivered just thinking about the possibilities. Leo eyed her warily when she showed back up in the Celestial Realm grinning. That was never a good sign in his book. Virgo saw him look at her and she continued to smile and ignored him, going about her normal business.


	21. Chapter 21

**As always - Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima and everything Pradesh belongs to Desna.**

A/N - I know it's been a while. I suffer from insomnia which at times can really impact my motivation and creativity. Then this whole Coronavirus thing hit and everything has changed. But I sincerely hope you haven't given up on me, I haven't given up on you. I hope everyone is staying safe and doing well.

Bickslow was thoroughly entertained by the boy's wonder and excitement as they approached the air dock. He deferred explaining how it worked to his brother Farron when they finally arrived, but that was mostly because he didn't know the answers himself. Lacrima technology was something he used, but he never tried to really understand how it worked. By the time they reached the ship Lucas was practically vibrating.

Farron pulled his brother into a massive hug. "Been a long time Bix. Everyone is excited you are finally coming home."

Bickslow grinned. "Yeah, I'm excited too. It feels like forever since I was there."

"Who is this ball of energy with you? And where are Lucy and Van?" Farron let go of his brother, tears misting his eyes slightly.

"This is Lucas, I'm sure Van told you about him. He's very excited about the airship. I told him you could explain how it worked." He smirked at the dubious expression on his brother's face. "Van is escorting Lucy to the palace right now. The Queen demanded her presence. They will head here as soon as that finishes. Lucas, this is my big brother Farron."

Bickslow nudged the boy who stammered out a greeting. His eyes wide and trying to peer past Farron to see into the ship.

"Why would Hisui want to see Lucy?" Farron asked.

"No clue really. That's why Van went with. She fancies them friends, but that couldn't be farther from the truth."

Farron nodded and looked to Lucas. He leaned down a bit, "It is nice to meet you Lucas. Vander spoke highly of you and your talents. How about a tour of the ship?" He laughed as the boy started bouncing in excitement. "I will try to answer your questions if I can, but you may have to ask Kaleb when we arrive in Bosco for the technical details. Come on you two. Vander knows this ship well, they will find us when they arrive."

Lucy took a deep breath as they approached the palace gates. Vander could tell she was anxious. "I'm surprised you didn't dress up for this, not that I don't always appreciate your choice of clothing."

"There's no reason for me to be uncomfortable," she huffed back. "I have that covered however." In a flash she was in a black gown with gold trim, hair in a bun. "Better? This way I also have the Regulus power in case I need to punch my way out of here." She grumbled.

"Oh, that is one of my favorites of yours."

"Mine as well." Loke appeared beside her. "Would you like me to join you, my Princess?" Vander had to admit the two looked a pair with her in his star dress and he in his suit.

"No need Loke, I'm hoping to keep this short and Vander is with me."

"As you wish. Call me if you need anything." Lucy promised to call him out if needed and the Lion spirit vanished.

She took another deep breath and looked at Vander. "Shall we get this over with?"

"Indeed my lady," he quipped, holding an arm out for her which she took as they approached the guards and were escorted into the palace.

They were brought to a large sitting room with a beautiful view of the gardens where they waited. Lucy paced while Vander just leaned against the wall looking as bored as ever. Servants brought tea which neither partook in. After what seemed like an hour to Lucy, Hisui finally arrived. She put on her heiress facade and curtsied, "Your highness."

Hisui ran over and grabbed Lucy's hands, "Oh there is no need for that. We've known each other far too long. It is so good to see you again my dearest Lucy." Vander could see Lucy's eye twitch slightly but there was otherwise nothing but happiness reflected on her face. _Oh, she's good _he thought to himself.

"Who is this dark and mysterious gentleman you have brought with you?" Hisui asked, eyeing Vander like he was an ice cream sundae.

Lucy just waved her hand dismissively, "He's just escorting me. I am heading to Bosco today for several months and I've somehow managed to arrange a ride with the Ambassador." She really didn't want to get into details and wanted to move this meeting along. "Hopefully, he isn't too upset at the delay in our departure. I am certain he will understand since you requested this meeting."

"Oh dear, well I shan't keep you long then. Farron is a dear, so I am sure this will be fine." Hisui smiled at her and pulled her along to look out the windows at the view. "Losing my father and becoming Queen has been difficult. No matter how much you think you have prepared for it, you are never fully ready but I am doing my best. I am holding a celebration for my coronation in one month. We delayed it to allow for the mourning of my father's passing. I do hope you will attend."

"I am very sorry for the loss of your father, my Queen. He was a good man. I am not sure I will be able to attend however as I will be out of the country." Lucy replied.

"Please, just call me Hisui. I am not used to this Queen business yet and I consider us friends. My dear Farron will be coming so I am certain I can arrange for your trip. I will prepare a room so that you can stay in the palace." Both Vander and Lucy's eyes twitched.

"I would be honored, Hisui. Although the room is unnecessary. I always stay at the Honeybone Inn while in Crocus for sentimental reasons." Lucy replied softly. Mentally she sighed, there was no getting out of this one.

"Fantastic! I am so happy you will be there. There is one small favor I would ask of you…" _Here we go,_ Lucy thought.

Lucy and Vander meandered through the gardens after their excusal. "Are you freaking kidding me?" Lucy vented, waving a list of names clutched in her hand. "She's using her coronation ball as a giant hook up and wants me to get all of the eligible powerful and good looking mages to attend? This is just a giant booty call!. Laxus will never agree. No way."

Vander just let her vent while he enjoyed the view. She was flushed by her anger and hadn't yet changed out of her star dress. She continued to stomp through the garden for a few minutes before she turned on him looking defeated. He much preferred the angry Lucy look. "We should go. I'm sure your brother is getting tired of waiting on us."

"Don't worry about Farron. He has the patience of a saint. Want to take the quick way back?" Lucy nodded. "Come here and hold on tight and close your eyes." Suddenly she was flushed for a different reason, recalling what it felt like to wake up wrapped in those arms. She relaxed into his hold as he breathed in her scent. He was playing with fire being so close to her after the night before and he knew it, but he wanted to hold her again. "This will be over in a few minutes. Just hang on and keep your eyes closed okay?" She nodded against his chest as they melted into the shadows.


	22. Chapter 22

**As always - Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima and everything Pradesh belongs to Desna.**

A/N - I promise next chapter they will arrive in Bosco finally! Please read and review :)

Although it took mere minutes for them to arrive, Lucy's teeth were chattering by the time they emerged. "H-h-how d-d-o you st-stand the c-cold?"

Vander laughed and started rubbing her arms to warm her up, "You get used to it." The blond in his arms shook her head as she proclaimed she would never get used to it. "Come on. Let's go find the others and-" He was interrupted by Lucas shouting the blonde's name and running down the hall to hug her.

Lucy turned and hugged him back to see Bickslow and another man walking towards them. The stranger, who she assumed was Farron was a sight to behold. He was nearly as tall as the Seith mage, with an athletic build, long dark blond hair with one side in a braid over his shoulder. His clothing was immaculate and tailored to fit. He had a gentle look in his blue eyes.

"Told ya she's a knockout." Bickslow nudged his brother who nearly halted in his tracks when he and Lucy made eye contact.

Ignoring both of his brothers he approached with a soft smile and pulled Lucy's hand up to give it a kiss as was proper in Fiore. Farron had to admit he would have much rather greeted her Boscan style. "Miss Heartfilia I presume? It is a pleasure to meet you at last. I've heard much about you from my brother and yours." He winked at Lucas who was still hugging her from the side.

Lucy blushed lightly while Vander rolled his eyes and walked around the trio to stand with Bickslow. She bowed her head in respect, "Ambassador Pradesh, it is an honor to meet you. I am a fan of you and your father's humanitarian works. The world is a better place because of people like you. Thank you so very much for allowing us to tag-along on your return trip home. I hope that Lucas and I aren't a bother."

"Please just call me Farron. Normally these journeys are just myself and the crew so I am looking forward to having such lovely company for the next few days."

"Is he going to let go of her hand at some point?" Vander quietly asked Bickslow, who simply laughed in response. "Hey can we get some food? Had to miss breakfast due to the royal inquisition." He loudly asked the group.

"Absolutely. I do hope our accommodations are not lacking Miss Heartfilia as this is more of a military ship than a luxury one. We do maintain a very well stocked galley." Farron moved her hand to the crook of his elbow smoothly. "Shall we?"

A still slightly flushed Lucy nodded and took Lucas's hand in her other as they began to walk. "Please just call me Lucy. I am not an aristocrat, I am a working mage."

"And yet you had an audience with the Queen. Please tell me all about it." Farron prompted.

Bickslow poked his younger brother in the arm, "You are going to get a headache if you continue to roll your eyes that hard. Come on, you wanted food after all." If this was an indication of how meeting the rest of his family would go, he couldn't wait to see it. He couldn't stop laughing as the imagery flooded his mind until Vander punched him in the arm. Hard. Unfortunately, that just prompted a whole new set of cackling.

Lucy was amazed at the large kitchen and the appliances available when they arrived. It was much larger and cleaner than she expected, a large table that could easily seat 20 in the center of the room. "Would you mind if I cooked?" She timidly asked the Ambassador at her side. "It has been quite some time since I've been able to use modern equipment."

"I would love to sample your cooking," Farron replied, releasing her arm and seating himself at the table. Lucas joined him as Virgo's gate opened. Bickslow and Vander joined shortly after.

"Princess, how may I assist?" the maid bowed to her. Lucy hugged her spirit and then they started digging through the refrigerator for supplies. She found an apron and the two got to work, Lucy humming to herself the whole time.

"She didn't use an incantation?" Farron asked his brothers. Bickslow had already informed him she was a Celestial mage.

"Lucy is unique. She doesn't need to use them. Heck some of her spirits just open their gates themselves. She also has this stardress thing where she can use their powers herself." Bickslow answered.

"Do they all call her Princess?"

"No, but most do. She refuses to let them call her master but most won't use her name out of respect I think. Loke told me once that Princess had to do with her relationship with the Celestial King. I guess he kind of treats her like a daughter so her spirits do as well."

"Loke?"

"Oh, that was his name when he was banished to Earthland. He is Leo the Lion, leader of the Zodiac. She has most of their keys."

"Interesting, so she is beautiful, intelligent and powerful then." Farron mused to himself while noticing the slight frown on Vander's face. He had many questions still, but preferred to ask the blonde mage herself.

"Lucy is the most amazing mage in the world!" Lucas chimed in.

Farron smiled down at him and agreed. "She is definitely high on the list."

After being well fed, Farron insisted the brothers clean up after. Virgo asked her Princess to call her once she had been shown to her room and vanished. Lucas meanwhile gave his big sister an update on everything he had seen on his tour. Lucy was fascinated with his description of the large bath and was looking forward to partaking in that later. Once cleanup was completed, she was shown to her room which was adjacent to Lucas'. Her jaw nearly dropped when she entered. It was larger than her apartment.

After she and Virgo sorted out all of hers and Lucas' belongings, she wandered out to explore. When she reached the deck she was amazed at the view, she hadn't even noticed when they took flight. For a while she just leaned against the railing, enjoying the wind and the sight below. "It's amazing isn't it?" Bickslow asked, coming up behind her. "I've never seen anything that can quite compare to seeing the world from up here."

"It is. As a writer, I'm ashamed to say I don't have the words to describe it." she smiled at her friend. "Lucas wasn't any trouble was he?"

"Never. He's just had so many questions that I couldn't answer, neither could Fare. Poor Kaleb is going to get an earful when they finally meet." Bickslow laughed. "Speaking of trouble, how was the meeting with Hisui?" Moaning in disgust, Lucy gave the Seith a run down of the request. "Oh man, you are right about Laxus. He will definitely not go. Probably send poor Freed instead." They chatted about the list of mages she had been given, all single men of course, until Lucy yawned. The sun had set already. "Hey, why don't you get some rest? It's been a long couple of days."

"I'd like to get a bath in before bed, Lucas mentioned a large one on the ship?" Bickslow knew that bath was communal as was Boscan tradition but decided not to say anything and instead just gave directions.

Lucy was smart enough to have read up on Boscan baths and knew it wouldn't be separated between men and women so she went to her room to change into a bikini and robe before adventuring out to find it. She only got lost once and was able to backtrack and find it. As she entered and approached the large steaming pool, she breathed in the scent of the water. It was a scent she didn't recognize but loved very much.

"I import the water from the Grass Sea for my baths on the ship. There are some things from home I simply cannot do without." Lucy startled, realizing that Farron was already soaking in the bath. She started to apologize, but he interrupted her immediately. "Nonsense. Please this bath is large enough for the entire crew, join me." He watched as she nervously disrobed and he greatly appreciated her royal blue bikini that left little to the imagination. She moaned almost sexually as she entered the water and he truly wished she was Boscan at that moment.

The water was the perfect temperature, Lucy thought as she seated herself a few feet away from Farron and let the heat do it's magic. Her hair was up in a messy bun with some strands falling around her face. She tried not to look directly at Farron, but she could see the upper portion of his chiseled chest and the top of a tattoo from above the water.

"I hear you have most of the Zodiac? That is impressive." Farron started.

"Yes, I've been very lucky to find them. Although some were passed down to me from my mother. They are all precious to me and are my dearest friends."

"Most Celestial mages don't think of their spirits in such a way from my experience."

"Well then they are stupid," Lucy responded. She knew that other mages just used them as tools, but she couldn't understand it. "I would do anything to protect them just as they would me. I love them all."

"We will have to arrange that you meet with the head of the Academe Celestine while visiting. I know he would love to speak to a mage such as yourself. Can I ask you about something Bix mentioned?" Lucy nodded. "What is the stardress?"

Lucy bit her bottom lip a little as she thought how to answer, "I can change my dress to one created by my spirits that allows me to use their power. I guess it is probably easier to show than explain." She decided that the only appropriate dress in this situation was Aqarius. She might have broken the key, but she had been left that gift. She took a deep breath and shifted her dress and started to manipulate the water in front of her. She had practiced in private a few times so that she could use this gift.

Farron watched in amazement as not only her clothing and hair changed, but a tattoo appeared on her chest, while she created a dance of water droplets in front of her with some waves of her hand. She dropped the stardress and the droplets fell harmlessly back into the bath. "You can control water?"

"To a degree, it is very hard to keep that one to a non-destructive level." A few tears were brought to her eyes as she recalled being washed away by tidal waves more than once by Aquarius. "Some of the other ones are easier to use."

"Well, Xally will be very excited to meet you. She is our youngest sister and a water mage."

The two discussed her spirits and his siblings that she had yet to meet for a while before deciding to turn in for the night. Farron bid his farewell and proceeded to exit the bath. Lucy slapped her hand to her face to block her vision when she realized he was 100% naked. She would forever deny that she peeked once his back was turned.


	23. Chapter 23

**As always - Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima and everything Pradesh belongs to Desna.**

A/N - Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there. Please read and review :)

Farron walked into the galley to the wonderful smell of fresh coffee, bacon and pancakes. Bickslow, Vander and Lucas were already seated while Lucy cooked and hummed a happy tune. He went to get himself a cup of coffee when the cup was ripped from his hands by the blonde. She took the cup and spooned a liquid from a pot on the stove into the cup before filling it with coffee and handing it back. She had definitely poured some sort of dairy into it, normally he just took it black. Confused he inhaled the scent and the fragrant smell of cinnamon wafted up from the cup. Looking up in surprise, Lucy just winked and told him that a little birdie told her about his favorite spice so she steeped cinnamon sticks in some milk to give it a little extra pop.

Taking a sip he set it down on the counter and hugged her from behind as she went back to flipping the pancakes. "You are truly an angel sent from heaven." She blushed furiously as she told him to go sit, while simultaneously slapping Vander's hand from the platter of bacon she had yet to place on the table. Soon she started serving, each getting their favorite toppings. Lucas and Bickslow had their pancakes smothered in syrup, Vander's came with a cherry compote, and Farrons came with cinnamon sugar butter. Lucy's of course was topped with strawberries. They all sat and ate and talked and laughed. As she served a second plate to Bickslow whose appetite was almost up to dragon slayer levels, the Seith mage got down on one knee and proposed causing more blushing and laughter.

_Good morning Farron. I trust the trip is going as scheduled?_ Kaleb's voice entered his mind. Farron confirmed they would arrive in about 4 hours. _Dad and Emi should be there to greet you. How are the Celestial mage and the boy? I've been kept up to speed on the boy's progress in training but little else. _

_Lucas is a very sweet child, and like a sponge for information. Be prepared for hours of questions. Lucy is… well unique in about every way imaginable. She is beautiful, kind, intelligent and an extremely skilled mage. Dean Kalperden will be very interested to meet her. Also quite talented in the kitchen I must say._

There was a slight laugh from Kaleb. _You are interested aren't you?_

_I am. There is nothing not to appreciate about her. You will see for yourself. _

_I look forward to it tonight at the house. The whole family should be there for dinner. Even Xally will be putting a hold on her remote work and will be working at the University Hospital for a bit. _

The rest of the trip was uneventful, Lucy and Lucas watching their arrival from the deck. Palerno was beautiful from above and they couldn't wait to see all of it. Farron joined them and pointed out certain locations as they moved over the city. Lucy had to admit the White Sea Guild was quite impressive looking even from a distance.

"I have a favor to ask of you," Farron started. "I have to return to Crocus in one month for the ball and I was hoping you would join me."

Lucy beamed up at him, "That actually works out great! I was going to ask if I could tag along. Hisui is demanding my presence as well as several of the mages I know. Even though I would rather not attend, I don't trust her and want to make sure my friends aren't pushed around by her. Plus they are not exactly used to mingling with the sort of people I am sure will also attend." This caught Farron's curiosity so they discussed her dislike of the new Queen. "Her father was a good man, it was very sad to see him pass." Farron agreed.

The arrival to the air dock was smooth. Lucas' excitement was bubbling over and infecting everyone around him. They left the building and were greeted by a very handsome and distinguished older gentleman and the most beautiful blonde woman Lucy had ever seen. Bickslow rushed to the two and hugged the older man and the woman in turn, thankful he was wearing his visor so that no one could see the tears. "It has been so long my son. Welcome home at last." The three spoke for a while while Lucy and Lucas hung back with the other two Pradesh's. Wiping tears from his pale green eyes, the man turned to the rest. "Are you going to introduce us?" He looked pointedly at Farron.

"This is Ms. Lucy Heartfilia from Fiore and the ball of excitement next to her is Lucas who will be training with Kaleb. Lucy this is-"

"Ambassador Pradesh," Lucy interrupted, walking forward and bowing slightly. "It is an honor to meet you, your work and your son's humanitarian efforts are well known. I am a huge fan of what you've been able to accomplish and how many lives you have been able to affect."

Arman smiled and took her hand and kissed it. "Please just call me Arman. Heartfilia… was your mother Layla by chance?" Lucy nodded. "She was a wonderful woman and I was very sorry to learn of her passing. She was a good friend to my wife long ago."

Lucy was ripped away into a big hug from the giant blonde, "I'm Emzadi, but you can call me Emi. I'm excited to have another girl here for a while, we are going to have so much fun shopping! Xally will be coming soon so there are definitely going to be a few girl's nights out."

Meanwhile, Lucas stepped forward to Arman. He put his hand out to shake. "Hi, I'm Lucas. I'm Lucy's brother."

"It is wonderful to meet you Lucas. I hear you will be training with another one of my sons at the White Sea Guild. You will meet him tonight, I hope you are ready to work hard."

Lucas nodded seriously, "I have to work hard so that I can protect my sister."

Vander walked up and ruffled the boy's hair, "You are already doing a great job at protecting her from what I've seen kid. I'll still be helping with your training too unless I have a mission." Lucas beamed up at the Shadowquip. "Hey dad, sis." Emzadi punched him in the arm. "Ow hey, sibling abuse already? I just got here."

"Call it being proactive for whatever nonsense you are already plotting." She returned with a wink to Lucy.

"You wound me." Vander fake pouted.

They arrived at the estate not much later, Lucas asking about how the cars worked and almost everything he could see out the window. Farron and Arman took turns answering his endless questions. Emi pointed out all of the best shopping areas to Lucy as they went. "First thing we need to do is get you some veil dresses, you would look so good in them!" Both Farron and Vander were imagining just that and looking forward to the reality of it.

The estate was larger than the compound Lucy had grown up on, it was plantation style with a large amount of land and placed very close to the Grass Sea. The scent of the sea was calming and she understood why Farron splurged on that water being on his airship for the bath. They were greeted at the front door by Cristoff and Erza. Erza pulled Lucy into a smothering hug while Cris greeted his family. Lucas was frowning a bit. There were too many people he didn't know touching his sister. "It's okay kid, I warned you that she has a lot of people in her life and you had to share. That is Erza, another guildmate from Fairy Tail. The giant hulking man is her mate and my older brother, Cristoff." Vander whispered to him. "Deep breath and control your feelings, we don't need a bout of jealousy running through this crowd. Okay?" Lucas nodded and did as suggested.

Lucy and Lucas were shown to their rooms by Cris and Erza. "I don't know how we can ever thank you enough for what you've done for us Lucy." Cristoff started. "If you ever need anything at all, please don't hesitate to ask any Pradesh. We all owe you a debt of gratitude for helping me find my mate."

Embarrassed, Lucy waved her hands and denied doing anything. "I just had a hunch, you two were meant to be so it would have happened eventually without me."

"Nonsense Lucy." Erza proclaimed. "You gave me the love of my life, my mate. The same as you did for Gajeel, Levy, Natsu and Gray. We are all blessed to have you as a friend. I will continue to protect you as always and so will my mate." The mention of Natsu and Gray reminded her of their request, but she pushed those thoughts aside and just enjoyed seeing Erza again. The girls hugged, talked and cried in Lucy's room as Virgo brought and put away her belongings. Cristoff took Lucas to his room right next door.

Eventually, the two separated and Lucy changed into a short yellow and white floral summer dress. She grabbed Lucas and they started exploring, eventually locating the kitchen where a shorter, balding and stocky man was cooking up the most amazing smells. "You must be Ms. Heartfilia and Master Lucas," he exclaimed, wiping his hands on his apron. "I am Mr. Elan, please tell me what your favorite dishes are." Lucas simply proclaimed he loved everything his sister cooked, while Lucy stated she didn't want to be a bother. "It is my pleasure to create things that make people happy," Mr. Elan replied. "I will find out eventually, even if you don't tell me." Finally she capitulated and admitted her love of strawberries and especially smoothies. The cook smiled and told her she should continue to explore and something special would be brought to her.

He found them on the back porch and delivered the smoothie as well as a fresh squeezed orange juice for Lucas. He returned to the kitchen while the two enjoyed their drinks and the view of the beach across an expansive lawn. Lucy knew they were in the middle of a large city, but it felt so private and remote. She felt like she could stay there forever and enjoy every moment.

"It is very relaxing isn't it?" Arman spoke as he joined them. "This has always been my favorite part of the house. I remember sitting and watching the children play and train out here when they were young."

"Yes it is an amazing home you have. Thank you so much for your hospitality. Lucas and I will arrange other lodging as soon as we can."

"I won't hear of it." Arman replied. "This house has been mostly empty for several years now that they are grown. This old man is looking forward to the company. I also must thank you for what you did for Cristoff. He was always a romantic, but had to keep his heart closed somewhat until he found his mate. Now he is able to give his whole heart and it is a joy to see. Soon, I hope to have some grandchildren at last and this house can be full of children's laughter once again. There is nothing I could ever give you in return that would be enough. So please allow me to at least open up my home to you, whenever and for however long you need."

Lucy had the feeling there would be nothing gained by arguing, agreed and simply thanked him again. "Please come in, dinner will be starting in about an hour and my other children should begin arriving soon." Arman led the two to the massive dining room, she supposed he needed it having eight children. She recalled hearing that one had died along with his mother when very young and the rest like Vander and Bickslow were adopted to honor his late wife's wish for a large family.

Kaleb was the first to arrive and what a sight he was. Lucy had to check herself to make sure she wasn't drooling. He was clad in tight white leather with gold accents and jewelry, taller than Bickslow with long flowing platinum blonde hair and pale lavender eyes. He looked like a sculpture come to life. He greeted his father and Bickslow first, who was thankfully not wearing the visor since he arrived in the house, and then came to meet her and Lucas. He bent to one knee to get to Lucas' level and introduced himself and explained he was the guild master of White Sea and that he and Vander would be furthering his training. Lucas seemed in awe of the man and was speechless for once, just nodding when appropriate. He then stood and smiled and kissed Lucy briefly in the traditional Boscan manner. Arman noted that both Vander and Farron's smiles disappeared a little when Kaleb did so. His own smile increased. Yes, having Lucy there would be wonderful for his family.

Lucy was in shock for a few moments. It wasn't everyday an Adonis just walked up and kissed her. Then she started to feel a familiar sensation. Pulling herself together, she narrowed her eyes slightly and looked up at the tall blonde. "You are a Mindbender mage correct?" When he confirmed this, she continued. "I would ask that you not intrude on my thoughts again. If you need to know something, just ask. I don't need anyone snooping around my brain."

Looking surprised, Kaleb apologized. "It was only surface thoughts and a little curiosity. I will not intrude again, you have my promise. Might I ask how you knew?"

"First thing, I am a Celestial mage so I take promises very seriously. Second, when you've been kidnapped as many times as I have you learn to take some precautions." She turned to Bickslow who was cracking up at her having scolded his older brother. "And you," she pointed to the Seith mage, "You and Cobra are no better. I know you take peeks at souls when you think no one can tell because of that stupid visor. I have given up on doing anything about Cobra."

Bickslow stopped laughing and Vander started up instead. Arman was glad to have this woman as an addition to his house. If he had any say in it, he would have her for a daughter-in-law eventually. He would be watching his children closely indeed.

Lucy glared at the laughing Shadowquip and sat at the table with a sigh. "You are acquainted with the Poison slayer then?" Kaleb asked, ignoring his little brother.

"You could say that, he is after all partially responsible for two of those kidnappings."


	24. Chapter 24

**As always - Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima and everything Pradesh belongs to Desna.**

A/N - Thank you all so much for the reviews! They are really keeping me going. I couldn't resist bringing Zen into the works, but to clarify I am not shipping those two. I already did that in Finding Home and wanted to try something different with this story. Anyhow, I hope you like the latest chapter. Enjoy!

Dinner started shortly after the arrival of Xally, who immediately got along with Lucy like they were friends their entire lives. The room was filled with the noise of everyone talking and laughing and Arman felt his heart could burst with all of the happiness he contained at that moment. He watched it all and thought about how happy his wife would be to see such a scene. "Are you alright Dad?" Farron asked, noticing his father was barely touching his food.

Arman smiled, the small wrinkles around his eyes crinkling up. "I couldn't be better. To have you all in the house again. I just wish your mother could see this."

Farron smiled back, "I'm sure she can. Although we are still missing one."

Not a minute after that statement the door to the dining hall opened. "Sorry I'm late Dad, training ran a little long." Lucy looked up to see a tall muscular man with long mahogany hair and violet eyes. When their eyes made contact, both stilled instantly and a quiet hush fell over the room. Lucy stood up abruptly, knocking her chair over in the process as Zen took a step forward. An armlet with a lacrima implanted in it glowed brightly and then shattered.

"Shit, this is bad." Vander muttered as he looked at Kaleb, trying to formulate a plan. The armlet was created by Kaleb to siphon off Zen's magic when in the presence of Celestial magic. It had never failed before.

"Oh this interesting," a man with dark blue hair that had walked in with Zen said gleefully. Lucy and Zen both took another step towards each other ignoring everyone else in the room as if they weren't there. Two gates opened between them, Virgo in front of Lucy and Loke in front of Zen.

Zen glared down at the ginger hair spirit blocking his way but Loke stood his ground fully prepared for a fight. "Get him out of here Draco," the spirit called out to the blue haired man.

"Now why would I do that? Let them be, it's natural for them and they will only become more powerful when they mate." He responded.

"I will not allow for choice to be taken from my Princess, Draco." Zen started to move again and Loke's hands lit with Regulus magic. "Virgo, get her out of here." Lucy was trying to get around the maid.

"Master Vander, please take her somewhere safe." Virgo looked to the Shadowquip who within a blink of the eye had crossed the room and disappeared with the blonde. Virgo moved to Loke's side preparing to attempt to subdue the Archangel.

"Bring her back," Zen growled out while his wings expanded, tearing a hole through a side table and the wall.

"Not a chance." Loke spat back.

Kaleb noticed the tension in the room kept growing, Erza donned her armor and Emzadi looked ready to brawl. Even his gentle natured father and Farron looked angry. Ignoring the fight about to start at the other end of the room, he put a hand on Lucas' shoulder and spoke directly in his mind.

_This is Kaleb. I know you are scared for your sister, but you need to calm down before someone gets hurt. She is with Vander, she is safe._ The sudden intrusion in his mind startled him out of his anxiety and anger and Lucas took a deep breath and relaxed his body as Vander had taught him. Kaleb watched as everyone in the room seemed to ease and back down excluding the spirits. Zen folded back his wings and looked around the room in confusion. All he could remember was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen and that nothing in the world would prevent him from getting to her. But she was gone now.

Meanwhile, Lucy was slowly coming back to her senses as she realized she was sitting on Vander's lap, held in his arms and they were on a beach. She was also cold for some reason. "What happened?"

"The unexpected. Seems to happen around you quite often. I would think you would be used to it by now." He laughed lightly. "What do you remember?"

"The most amazing purple eyes, I had to get closer but everything else is a blur." She rubbed her temples feeling a headache start. "Was I charmed again? It kind of feels like that did."

"When were you charmed? Never mind, a story for another day. I guess it would be similar, but it wasn't a spell. It was your magic. The guy with the purple eyes is Zen and he has Archangel magic. There's something built into his magic and yours that compels you to be together. At least that's the most I know. He has… well had a device that siphoned his magic off when meeting a Celestial magic user to prevent this, but it broke when he saw you. Kaleb's going to have fun trying to figure that out."

Lucy's head was spinning as she tried to absorb what he was telling her. "Zen? I thought he died."

"Yeah, everyone thought so. His magic saved him though and he was kept as a slave in Pergrande. We only found out he was alive and were able to get him back about a year ago. He's been training with Draco in the Celestial Realm and is rarely here."

Lucy nodded. She had more questions but her head hurt too much to bother at the moment. "Why am I so cold?"

Vander held her tightly to his chest, "Yeah sorry. I had to pull you out quick. Virgo and Loke were busy trying to keep you two apart."

She bit her lip. "Virgo and Loke were there? I don't even remember seeing them. How do I not remember my spirits?" Lucy started to panic, that was something that had never happened to her and she did not like it.

"It was like you were in a trance, I don't think you noticed anything other than Zen." Lucy just frowned as her mind whirled.

"When do you think we can go back? Is Lucas okay? Oh my stars, I didn't think about Lucas either!"

Vander hugged her tightly and rested his chin on her shoulder. "Calm down. Kaleb will let me know when it's safe and he will make sure the kid is okay."

Back at the estate, Cristoff was calming down his mate about her friend's whereabouts and safety. Kaleb was keeping Lucas and his two sisters calm. Bickslow and Zen were introduced and talked while Arman tried to keep the peace between the three Celestial spirits.

"You need to keep your Archangel away from our Princess, Draco. It is simple."

"I don't see what all the fuss is about little lion. This is how their magic is supposed to work. She is a powerful Celestial mage. Mating with an Archangel will make her even more so with the best protection created by the Heavens. I will not assist in preventing such a match. They will breed and create more Archangels and restore balance." Draco affirmed while Loke bristled.

"I will not stand for her choice in the matter being taken away and I will be bringing this to the King."

"Choice. As a dragon I never had a choice, I found my mate and that was that. Look at the mated pair over there. Do they look unhappy about not having a choice? Choices are just chances to make the wrong decision. The magic will ensure it is a good one."

As Loke was about to argue further, Arman interrupted. "Although I do understand your perspective Draco, I have to agree that I would rather my son had the ability to choose for himself. If the two were to mate because they fell in love I would be exceptionally happy. Perhaps there is a way to block the magical compulsion so that they may have the time to get to know each other and decide for themselves?"

Draco frowned, he would never fully understand humans. "I do not know of any way to block only a part of their magic. However, I will look into it."

"I will as well. I don't trust you to put in the proper amount of effort Draco." Loke growled out. Virgo had stood calmly by his side, thinking the entire time.

"Perhaps a modified suppression of sorts? I will speak to Crux and update you with my findings." Virgo bowed to Arman and vanished.

"I am not sure he would be keen on suppression after having suffered through it for so many years, but we can look into all possibilities. Kaleb I am certain will be working on how his device failed to siphon enough magic. In the meanwhile, Draco can you please take Zen to the Celestial Realm for a few days?" Arman asked while watching his sons get to know each other. It hurt to have to Zen go away again so quickly, but this was a matter that could impact the rest of his life if they didn't sort it out. He prayed that someday soon they could all spend some time together.

"We cut his training short to come here anyhow, so I can certainly keep him busy." Draco capitulated. Loke then returned to the Celestial Realm to request an audience with the King. "One thing to note, Arman. I am bound to your family line which is what allows me to assist with your son. If she were to mate into your family, I would ask that you give her my key. I have not felt Celestial magic like that in hundreds of years. She reminds me quite a bit of Anna." With that said he walked over to retrieve Zen.

_You can return now_, Kaleb called out to Vander. _Zen is returning to the Celestial Realm with Draco to give us time to come up with a solution._

_How is the kid?_ Vander asked. _She's worried about him. To be honest so am I, he doesn't cope well when anything happens to her._

_I was able to calm him down before any damage was done. I think it is best to bring him to White Sea tomorrow to start the training. The sooner the better. _Vander agreed and updated Lucy before returning with her. She was immediately hugged by Lucas who refused to let go of her. Lucy tried to bring up her and Lucas finding another place to stay again but the idea was immediately rejected by Arman. She felt horrible that his own son couldn't stay with him, but he dismissed it and stated that he was rarely there anyhow. Exhausted, she took Lucas with her to bed since he would not go to his own room. Kaleb and Vander planned out the trip to the guild in the morning while everyone else said their farewells and dispersed for the night.

The morning was peaceful, those that were staying at the estate enjoyed breakfast together. Xally and Emi planned a girl's shopping trip with Lucy which made Lucas pout. Emi just tapped him on the nose and pointed out she would be with a dragon slayer and safe and he would be busy training anyhow. After breakfast, they got dressed and ready to head to the guild. Emzadi and Bickslow were taking them as Vander and Kaleb were already there. Xally had to check in at the hospital and Farron needed to run by the Embassy.

Lucy was in awe of the massive guild hall as they approached. It was so much larger than any of the guilds in Fiore. Emzadi pointed out that this was only one branch and the main Guild Hall in White Sea itself was much larger. Kaleb preferred to stay at this location however, as it was closer to home and family. As they entered, there was a large dining hall and bar filled with music, people talking, laughing and some even doing a few things she considered covering Lucas' eyes for. As she looked around she spotted Kaleb on the balcony and then spotted a particular mage she was hoping to see.

Turning to her companions she put a finger to her mouth to indicate being quiet. Kaleb watched as she started to sneak her way through the crowd, to an as of yet unidentified target. Curiosity peaked, he watched as she continued to snake her way around the tables heading towards the bar. He knew very well how important promises were to Celestial mages, so he just continued to watch from above to see what she was up to. He was shocked as she snuck up on and jumped onto the back of the most anti-touch mage he had ever met. He sighed, mentally preparing to bring her to the infirmary when he watched what happened next.

Cobra loved the variety of poisons available at the bar at White Sea for him and was getting a refill on his nightshade laced gin and tonic when the bartender dropped his newly made drink with a horrified look on his face. "You realize I could hear you plotting about two blocks away." He told the blonde clinging to his back.

Lucy pouted but didn't let go, hugging him like she was getting a piggyback ride. "You ruin all of my fun. Besides how can you hear anything with all of these people here?"

The nervous bartender quickly made him a new drink and Cobra walked back to his table in the back corner with Lucy still firmly attached. "I'm getting better at tuning out the noise. You however are noticeable no matter what I do. You've always been annoying like that."

Kaleb watched as he set his drink down, slid Lucy to his side and sat comfortably all in one smooth movement. Cobra was well known for being one that should not be disturbed throughout the guild. There had been quite a few mages poisoned when he first arrived. The whole guild hall was watching and waiting for the expected result. Instead they watched as the little blonde girl kissed the Poison Slayer on the cheek and hugged him tightly. "I missed you!"

Cobra sighed, "You are ruining my well deserved reputation. I should poison you just so I don't have to deal with the fallout."

"You won't. Because you missed me too. Besides I have someone I want you to meet." Lucy slid off of him to sit in the booth normally.

"Missing you is like missing a leach after it has been burned off." Cobra grumbled. Internally he was happy she was there however. He had been learning how to tune out the various souls around, but it was simply easier to focus on hers when she was around.

Kaleb watched the scene in amazement. Cobra had been exceptionally difficult to bring into White Sea and there had been many casualties until people learned how to keep distance. "Told you to expect the unexpected when she's around." Vander leaned against the railing next to him.

"She is certainly a very unique and interesting individual." Kaleb admitted as he watched her jump up and wave over Lucas, Bickslow and Emzadi.


	25. Chapter 25

**As always - Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima and everything Pradesh belongs to Desna.**

A/N - And so the training begins for both Lucas and Lucy. And yes, Arman is totally plotting... Hope you like this. Please read and review!

"Lucas, this is Cobra. Cobra this is my little brother Lucas. You already know Bickslow and Emi."

Cobra eyed the boy hugging onto Lucy's side, as he returned the same suspicious look. "So the leach has its own leach now? Also, aren't you an only child?"

Lucy punched him in the arm and scowled at the slayer earning a few audible gasps from nearby mages. "Be nice. Yes I was an only child, but Lucas _is_ my brother. I just have to figure out how to make it legal. Anyhow, he's going to be training here and I would love it if you two could get along. Maybe even help with his training?"

Cobra scoffed, "I don't do babysitting Tink. Unless you want me to poison him to make him quiet for you." Lucas glared at the one eyed mage on the other side of his Lucy. Cobra snickered, the kid's soul was a riot of emotions and he seemed easily set off.

"Why do you have to be such a jerk to everyone?" Lucy sighed. She turned to Lucas, "Don't get worked up over him. He acts like this, but inside he is just a softie." Cobra growled as both Bickslow and Emzadi started laughing.

"I. Am. Not. A. Softie." Lucy ignored his growling and glaring and proceeded to tell Lucas that Bickslow was going to take him to Vander and Kaleb to start his training today.

"Aren't you coming too?" Lucas asked her nervously looking around. There were so many strange people here and he didn't want to be without her.

"Nope, I have to ummm arrange my own training of sorts." Try as she might she couldn't prevent a small blush from showing as she recalled her awkward conversation asking about a Sudepah with Arman that morning. She punched Cobra in the arm again when he started snickering. "Don't you dare, or I will tell everyone your real name." She hissed at the slayer.

Cobra leaned back in the seat, "That just means I have to get rid of everyone you tell. Sounds like fun honestly. They have too many goodie goodie rules here. Reminds me of your pansy ass guild."

Lucas was definitely confused, the Poison Slayer seemed to know more than was being said aloud. "How do you know where Lucy is going?"

Cobra just shrugged and sipped his drink. "He can hear souls," Bickslow answered.

"I thought you were a Poison Dragon Slayer not a sound mage." Lucas prompted. Cobra only shrugged in response again causing Lucy to sigh once more.

"He's both and a giant teddy bear with the biggest crunchiest outer shell of all time."

Getting annoyed and done with this conversation, Cobra leaned over to whisper in Lucy's ear. "Keep up the teddy bear comments and I will tell them where you are off to. Might be fun to explain to the kid what a Sudepah is. Why are you even going anyhow? Decided to be more fun like Cana finally?"

"It is none of your business," Lucy hissed back. As planned however, his prodding got her memories of Gray's request rolling again. She realized she fell into his trap when his one eye opened slightly wider. "Bickslow will you take Lucas for his training now?" The Seith nodded and talked Lucas into going by offering to let him ride his totems on the way. "Emi, I'm going to need your help finding where I need to go."

"It's a mistake." Cobra stated once the boy was gone. Lucy gave him a very poignant look and he could hear her demand for him to stop talking. "Not where you are going, but why. One of these days you are going to give too much of yourself away and you will have nothing left for yourself."

"I will see you later Cobra," Lucy stated curtly. The last thing she wanted was his advice at that moment. She had made up her mind. "Emi, lets go." Once outside the guild hall Lucy breathed a sigh of relief.

"Mind explaining what all that was about?" Emi prompted. Lucy handed her the paper Arman had given her that morning. "Oh, I know exactly where this is." Emzadi grinned at her. "Come on, I'll take you."

To say she was nervous was an understatement as she stared at the entrance to a beautifully landscaped and architected building with Grecian style pillars and motifs. Emzadi pulled her hand, "No need to be scared. Everyone in Bosco does this at a young age. It really is quite freeing." Seeing the blonde was nearly hyperventilating, the slayer decided this wasn't simply nerves. "What is really going on Lucy?" She dragged her over to a bench and waited, rubbing her back soothingly.

Eventually Lucy caved and told her everything. "Okay, that is a lot to take on. Now I understand the reaction. Have you told them your decision yet?" Lucy shook her head. "Good. Don't, not yet anyhow. Start the training, these are the best Sudepah in Palerno. See how you feel in a few weeks. Don't rush yourself. Understand this part is for you, not for them. If you don't want it for yourself then maybe it isn't time."

"I do though. It's stupid, I don't know why I've held onto my virginity for so long. I guess I'm just scared I will get attached to the person and they will leave and I will feel used." Lucy replied.

"I know all about heartache, trust me. But one thing doesn't need to relate to the other. Sex is fun, it feels good. That's all. Love is a different thing entirely." Emzadi explained. "You just have to think about it differently."

Lucy covered her face with her hands in embarrassment, "I asked your brother to, well you know. He suggested this instead."

"Which one? It was good advice." The Solar slayer was very surprised that it was Vander that had turned her down and sent her in the right direction. Maybe her little brother was finally growing up. "I think you are ready now if you still feel this is right for you."

Lucy took a deep breath, stood up straight and took Emi's hand. "Yes, I'm ready." Emi pulled her into a big hug and escorted her into the building.

They were greeted by a lovely older woman with gray streaks through her dark hair and warm green eyes. "It isn't often we get a Pradesh in here anymore Emzadi. Who is this gorgeous woman you have brought to us?" Lucy blushed and introduced herself and explained her background. "I have just the teacher for you. We cater to foreign dignitaries frequently, so we fully understand the restrictions you have grown up with. How long will you be in Palerno?"

"Well, I have to return to Fiore in a month for a ceremony, but will be returning after. I don't know how long I will be here in full." The woman who introduced herself as Silah, smiled and called for another to bring someone named Cassie. Lucy was surprised it was going to be a female instructor.

With a knowing look, Silah explained, "We want you to be comfortable, so we usually pair you with the same gender unless you have a preference of course." Lucy shook her head and blushed again. "Cassie is one of our best. I think you will like her quite a bit."

"Umm, how much will this cost?" Lucy asked unsure how this worked.

Silah looked to Emzadi who laughed, "If Dad sent you here, then he's picking up the tab. Don't worry about it." She quickly waved off any attempt Lucy had at arguing. "By the way Silah, he will probably be at the Golden Sunset Bathhouse tonight if I know him." The older woman, still smiling said she would love to meet him there. "I will let him know. Lucy, I will pick you up when you are done for today okay?" With that she hugged the nervous blonde and left.

Lucy was standing there wringing her hands waiting for the mysterious Cassie to show up, when a young brunette with brown eyes ran into the room. "Cassie, may I introduce you to Ms. Lucy Heartfilia. She is from Fiore and has about a month to spend with us. Lucy, this is Cassie your instructor."

It was impossible to feel intimidated by the bubbly girl she was being introduced to. Cassie grabbed both her hands and smiled broadly. "It is great to meet you Lucy! You are from Fiore? I have never been there, but I hear the weather is wonderful in the fall and the trees change colors. I want to go see that some time."

Chatting like new friends, Cassie led Lucy to her private studio. After getting to know each other and Lucy was relaxed, Cassie explained how this was going to begin. The first step was anatomy lessons and Lucy was pleased to know they weren't jumping right into anything. Although there was some blushing, Lucy was nothing if not a great student. Towards the end of the first session, most of her anxiety had disappeared and Cassie assured her, if she kept up that progress a month was plenty of time.

Emzadi was waiting for her when she finished and the two travelled back to the estate chatting about shopping. Lucas was waiting for her with tales of his training when she arrived. "So how was your training Lucy?" he asked innocently.

Lucy sputtered out a reply that it went fine while blushing yet again. Emzadi laughed, "You know if he was Boscan he'd already be in that training."

"Yes, well he isn't Boscan. At least I don't think so."

"No idea where you are from huh kid?" Emi asked Lucas, who shook his head. "Maybe Dad can help with that. He's pretty good at hunting down mysterious origins. I think the only one he has never figured out is Kaleb."

Lucas, who after today was practically idol worshipping the guild master was in shock. "Master Kaleb doesn't know where he's from either?"

"Nope, he was rescued from a slave ship as a young child by Dad and Farron. They knew where he was headed but could never sort out where he was from." Emi's eyes sparkled with mischief, "Did you know he used to have dark hair and eyes? Come on, I'll show you pictures when he was a kid."

The two took off while Arman walked up to Lucy. "I take it today went well?"

"Yes sir," Lucy amended her reply at the pointed look she received. "I mean yes, Arman. Thank you so much, but I feel I should reimburse you for the…"

Arman interrupted immediately, "As an Ambassador I have long standing arrangements with them, it is of no concern. So you are unaware of Lucas' family beginnings?"

Sighing Lucy replied, "Yeah. He was taken at a young age and used by thieves to cause distractions so they could pilfer what they wanted. He doesn't remember anything before them. I don't know how I will manage to adopt him without having more information."

"My dear, I am quite certain I can assist with this. I am not familiar with Fioran policies but as you can see I'm very skilled at working out adoptions in this country. I will start to look into it." Arman replied with a smile. She really was a kind, genuine and warm person and he was hoping she would join his family at some point. He had his eyes on four of his boys in regard to her and couldn't wait to see how it turned out.

Lucy grappled him in a giant hug, "Oh thank you so much! I feel like I have no idea where to even begin. He's like a brother to me and I want to give him a real home and family."

"You have my promise that I will do everything in my power to help make that a reality." Arman replied. If she married into his family and became Boscan it would be a simple task really to adopt the boy.


End file.
